The Parts We Play
by Mikrebyle
Summary: Slave of the government, tortured shape-shifting mutant Mimik believes she is nothing but a tool, a weapon. Will the X-men be able to prove to her that she can play a much bigger role?
1. Introduction

**The Parts We Play**

The beginning of this is largely based on the Ultimate X-men story and then it falls into my own AU. The cover image contains drawings credited to artist and writer The SuburbanCoyote, the online artist Andie Tong, and myself. I do not own claim to any of the X-men characters except for Mimik my OC. Enjoy and please review and tell me what you think of it so far.

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><p>Life is like one big movie, everyone casted to play a role and everything playing out to make the big picture. Some people are just the extras, the nobodies that don't have anything special going on, then there are the heroes and do-gooders. They are the ones who struggle to maintain the side of good; they stop the bad guys and make sure the world is how they believe it should be. The bad guys are the ones who believe the world has wronged them in some way and they need to correct it whether that be destroying it or asserting their power over everyone. And last but not least there are the tools, the people that get used by either side to win their wars, they can be slaves or soldiers, but all in some way are victims. I used to think that I could be a good guy, a hero fighting injustice, but now I know I am just a tool of the bad guys. I have done horrific things not because I thought it was right but because I was told to, forced to.<p>

I've accepted this role and I was even starting to get into it, but then my "boss" came back…

My name is Kim and I'm a mutant, the next evolutionary step for humanity. Most times I even look like an ordinary human, but other times there's no mistaking me for the freak that I am.

I'm what you would call a shape shifter. I can become anyone I want to.

Along with that I also have amped up senses, rapid healing, and mimicry. If I were to find another mutant and figure out what their power was I could copy it. My control over that ability would be limited and not to the strength or degree of the actual mutant's power, but it's very useful none the less.

My natural physical appearance is probably the most depressing and annoying feature I have, causing me to use my abilities to disguise myself in public. My skin is a dark forest green color, my hair is a dark brown with green highlights, my eyes are a dark swirling grey with no pupil, my ears are pointed, and I have a prehensile tail with an arrow-shaped tip.

With that and all the scars I have, it makes me hate this form, so usually I take the form of a girl my age with pale white skin, green eyes, and brown hair.

My life is a living hell to boot. I am a slave of a secret government program under the code name Project X.

The goal of this program is to capture mutants and use them in covert government missions around the world as well as to capture other potential mutant candidates for the program. I have been trained to hone my abilities to perfection; I was taught to be extremely intelligent, as well as how to be a fighter and a killer. Basically they molded me into their perfect weapon.

I have been their prisoner since I was about four or five years old and I cannot remember a life beyond this one. They have experimented on me too many times to count or remember and any normal person would have gone insane with all the torture and pain. And who's to say I haven't, but if I cooperate and obey they don't hurt me as much.

In one of the worst experiments I've undergone, they completely removed my skeleton and replaced it with an exact adamantium duplicate, bone by bone. Adamantium is nigh indestructible, they have yet to find something that could cause even a chip in it. It hurt, a lot. But now I have these blades that replaced bone claws that would emerge right above each of the four knuckles on each hand.

I can't remember much of the months after that because while my body was getting used to the new skeleton and trying to relearn how to shift with the new bone structure, my mind tried to stay in a constant unconscious numbness to keep me from feeling the full extent of the pain. Afterwards I found out that along with the adamantium they wired my entire nervous system and brain up in an attempt to gain a stronger control over me. The experiments on that have yet to produce anything of great use to them.

My "boss" is a sadistic slave-driver is named Colonel John Wraith.

He is like Satan incarnate, he hates mutants, despises them right down to his rotten core. He enjoys inflicting pain, watching you suffer is like a high for him. Even though he seems like an average man with a muscular build and a military buzz cut, the truth is… he terrifies me. Ninety percent of the scars I have are because of him and his punishments or lessons or even just for his own amusement.

I have defied him enough times to know that his cruelty knows no bounds. He is the one in charge of training and missions. Failure and disobedience are rewarded with torture; cooperation and success are rewarded with slightly less torture. Out of all the mutants they have had here I have been his favorite, because of my healing abilities I can survive anything he dishes out, so no worries about killing me.

My other "master" is the great and terrible Dr. Abraham Cornelius. He is the brains behind the program. He has been my teacher and doctor, using every chance he gets to cut me open and see how I tic. He likes to act all nice and friendly but he's just another anti-mutant crazy.

I am now 18 and am still their little tool, but for the past few years I have been trying to be subservient as possible to my masters, doing every little thing they request whether it is genocide or polishing their boots.

It seems to be paying off though, I have been given command of my own team of black ops soldiers, all mutant haters but they listen to what they're told. I have also been upgraded from a cell in the mutant "barracks" to an actual room in the soldier's quarters, still kept under guard of course. I no longer try to escape and I don't fight back when it's time for punishment or a "check-up". Even the punishments have been scarce lately since Wraith went on a mission somewhere a few months ago with his other pet mutant, Sabertooth.

Sabertooth is another sadist that follows Wraith around like a little puppy. He is a mercenary and he volunteered to be a part of the Weapon X project as long as he got to hurt people and got a little money out of it too. He is a near feral, burly mutant with a 'mane' of golden hair, mutton chops, claws instead of actual fingernails, fangs, and a penchant for inflicting pain.

Today is training day, there's no missions scheduled so it's just me and the training course. The course is more like an active battlefield , there are lasers, men with stun guns and darts, sentinels (the governments new pet project, mutant hunting robots), and other obstacles to avoid and get through. The course used to be hard, almost impossible for me but over the years I have perfected my abilities and can breeze right through the course. For me now it's more like a little warm up to keep my muscles loose and ready for whatever shit gets thrown my way.

After my training I head back into the facility and to my room. I walk in and stop dead as I see who's sitting on my bed waiting for me…


	2. New Faces

I do not own claim to any of the X-men (only my girl Mimik), and make no money from this. Please let me know what you think so far and I hope you enjoy the read.

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><p>"Judging from your expression, you must be happy to see me." Wraith grins and pats the bed, "Come one and sit next to your pal."<p>

I finally recollect myself and say, "Wh-when did you get back sir? If I had known I wouldn't have been out…"

He laughs and stands up, "Don't bullshit me, you were hoping I wasn't coming back. But I am and I brought some new friends home with me for you to play with. Wasn't that nice?"

Something's not right… He isn't usually this happy. Unless…

"So I take it your mission was a success then?"

He walks up to me and pats me on the shoulder, I flinch and he smirks, "It was and now time for the next step."

"Next step? What do you me-"

Suddenly he stabs me in the arm with a huge syringe. I react without thinking and I slug Wraith in the face.

He grins and says, "Good girl."

Then I get hit in the back of the head knocking me over. I roll over and look up to see Sabertooth grinning as well. What's going on? What did I do? Wraith comes into view holding a bleeding nose and says, "You thought that you could get away with doing whatever the fuck you felt like 'cause I was gone? Did you forget that you're just a little mutant psycho? It seems like I'm going to have to remind you of your status here."

My vision is starting to fade and my head feels heavy. He turns to leave and then stops and looks back at me, "And by the way, the nose is going to cost you." The last thing I saw was his boot smashing down onto my face.

.

In the prisoner barracks the new captives that Wraith captured are whispering amongst themselves about their current situation in the dark. The other occupants who've been there longer just ignore them and lie on their cots in their cages. The barracks is basically is a hallway with cages on either side. The six new captives were split up in sets of two. Two groups were in cages right next to each other while the other was directly across the hall from them. Surrounding them are the other prisoners, mutants from all walks of life. One's who just wanted to hide from people, ones who wanted to just be normal, and those who hated humans or used their powers for crime.

The lights flash on and the whispering stops. Wraith walks in from a room at the end of the hall. He walks right to the center where his new prisoners are and stop, grinning at them. "So my little muties how are the accommodations? I hope they are to your liking."

A muscular young guy with reddish brown hair and a bandage around his eyes stands up and faces towards Wraith, "What do you want with us? Who are you people?"

Wraith laughs, "I don't want you and if it were up to me you'd be six feet under. As for who I am, my name Is Colonel Wraith, your new boss. You are no longer X-men; you are the property of Project X and my new play toys."

The young man clenched his fists and yells, "We are not your property! Where is the Professor? Let us out of here or so help me-"

Wraith pulls out his gun and aims it at the clueless boy, "What? What are you gunna do pretty boy? Pull off that bandage of yours and you might end up hurting your pretty little girlfriend."

The young man unclenches his fists and sits down. Wraith lowers his gun but doesn't put it away. The door at the end of the hall opens and a couple soldiers walk in dragging a body in between them. Wraith grins and says to the X-men, "This is your new team leader. She will help you in your training and eventually your missions."

As the body is dragged closer a young guy with brown hair whispers to his huge, muscular, dark haired bunk mate, "Is she dead?"

Wraith overhears and chuckles, "Close but no. She's just undergone some rigorous… reconditioning. I'll leave you all to get acquainted. I'll see you freaks tomorrow, when your training begins."

The girl is thrown in one of the center cages right next to one occupied by a pair of X-men. The cage also has a young man with yellow eyes who has a tail and has a fine black-blue fur covering his body. Wraith and his men leave, all attention to returning to the girl lying unconscious on the cold steel floor.

The blue elf-like boy goes over to her and shifts her position so she is at least comfortable. He looks at the two in the cage across from him worried. The bandaged man and his companion a large muscular ape-like man covered in blue fur are sitting on their cots watching and listening. She looks to be around their ages and seems to be covered in bruises and cuts that seem to be sealing up slowly. After a little bit she begins to stir…

.

Oh my head… I open my eyes and the light creates an immediate headache. What is that noise? Voices? I sit up and as I take in my surroundings I start feel sick with terror. This is a cage… No! I thought I was free of this! What could I have done to be brought back here? I can smell the horror and pain like a thick perfume…

I try to calm down assess the situation; there are others here, more prisoners of the Project and of Wraith no doubt. In the cage across from the one I'm in are a couple of guys, one a blue furry gorilla looking guy (he seems to a bit older than the other prisoners) and the other a muscular reddish brown haired guy with a bandaged over his eyes who looks like he's got a stick up his ass or something. In the one I can see next to theirs is a couple girls, one is dark skinned with pure white hair (who seems to also be older than the others) and the air just seems to swirl and crackle around her; the other is a pretty, red haired girl. In my cage with me is a guy who has dark blue skin, a tail with an arrow-like tip, yellow eyes, two toes on each foot, and three fingers on each hand.

"I take it you guys are Wraith's new toys?" I sit up and lean against a wall, looks like I'm still in my favorite form rather than my mutant one.

The gorilla guy comes to the front of his cage, "It would seem as if we are all captives now. If I may ask what is your name?"

"Me? You can just call me Kim and yes I guess were ALL prisoners now." I clench my fist and then hiss at the pain. When did I get hurt? Wraith must've beaten me while I was unconscious. Damn him! I wasn't supposed to be back here. My cellmate taps me on the shoulder. "What?"

He points to my fist that I still had balled up; I was digging my nails in so deep I was bleeding. I unclench it and watch as the wounds heal up, the blood just reabsorbing into my skin.

The gorilla guy was watching and remarks, "Fascinating, you seem to have similar regenerative properties to that of our friend, Wolverine."

I sit straight up at that name, "Wolverine? Is he here?" I go to stand up but I'm still weak from those drugs and the beating and having to heal all that so I fall back down on my ass.

The bandaged guy huffs and says, "He's not here, that jerk left us the day before we got dragged here."

I slump. "Damn, he's the only who's ever made it outta here and lived to tell about it…" And I was hoping to see a friendly face…

The redhead pipes up, "Wolverine escaped from here? He never mentioned it before."

I chuckle dryly, "He probably doesn't remember, knowing the good doctor."

The bandaged guy crosses his arms, "Wraith says you're going to be our new team leader, that true?"

"He said what? You're team leader?"

The bandaged guy stands up, "So why does he think you're fit to be our leader then?" Definitely has some sort of stick up his ass.

I grab the bars and slowly pull myself up. The blue guy tries to help me put I push him away. I lean against the wall and say, "I don't know, but I'm about to ask."

I check the ceiling right outside the cage and spot the little thing I'm looking for. A hidden camera so they can watch us all. I look at the bandaged guy, "What's your power?"

He frowns, "Why?" Looks like I've got everyone's attention now. "I'm gunna get someone in here, now what's your power?" He lifts up half the bandage and looks down at the floor before opening his eye. A red 'laser beam' shoots out of his eye, burning the metal of the cage. "Ok good enough."

Gorilla guy looks puzzled, "May I inquire as to what you plan to do with the knowledge of Cyclops mutant ability?"

I snicker, "Cyclops? Really that's your name? Well at least it isn't the worst I've heard." I look up at the hidden camera and use 'Cyclops'' power to take out the hidden camera.

"Ok we got about 40 seconds before the guard on duty comes to check out why the camera went dead. If we're lucky tonight Jimmy will be on duty, he's a moron."

Red head looks confused, "How do you know this?"

"I've been here a while…"

.

Right on time the door opens and in walks Jimmy. He's short and bad tempered but he's as smart as a box of rocks. He walks over and looks up at the camera, "Alrighty, which one of yall fucked up the security camera?"

I move to get his attention. "Oops looks like I ruined it…"

He turns to looks at me, shocked, "Why are you in here?"

"Wanna hear something funny?"

He frowns, "What?"

I wave my finger calling in him closer. He steps into range, "Well to tell the truth, I was in here interrogating this blue bastard here." I point my thumb to the blue guy in my cell with me. "And somehow I got locked in here too. Funny right?"

He frowns scratching his head, "You didn't have a key?"

"Nope I was told it's a new security measure."

He steps forward, "Really? No one told me."

The others are getting restless; they better not screw this up.

"You've only been on duty for how long? A couple hours maybe? So how could anyone have told you yet, you've yet to be briefed on today's prisoner changes and any changes in codes."

He pulls out his card key, "Well I guess that makes sense. I mean you are the Alpha captain and all…" He swipes it and the cage door pops open.

"Thanks Jimmy, I owe ya one." He smiles and I grab him, spinning him around putting my claw blades to his throat. "Sorry Jimmy but I haven't spent the past five years licking Wraith's boots to end up back in a cage again!"

I grab his key card and tell the others, "I can't guarantee you'll all get out or even live past tonight but I can at least give you a chance."

I struggle with Jimmy over to gorilla guy and bandage boy and go to swipe the card, when all over a sudden a pain emanates from my neck throughout my body. I spasm and drop to the floor, letting Jimmy go and dropping the card in the process.

It's taking all my strength not to scream out in pain. It's like I'm being electrocuted from the inside and with my skeleton being completely metal, it feels like I'm burning. No. Frying... Writhing in pain I didn't hear the others shouting or the entrance of Wraith and his goons until a boot is slammed into my stomach, leaving me breathless. I look up and see him smiling from ear to ear.

He waves a little thing that looks like a remote and says, "How's the upgrade? When you were out I had the good doctor hook you up with a new toy he came up with while I was away. Remember that wiring you have going on? Well now that's connected to a little device that can generate enough electricity to light up a city. And all I have to do is press this little button here. Isn't that just… funny?"

I roll over onto my hands and knees, shaking but using all my strength and pain training. It's excruciating, my body just keeps twitching and I think I can smell my flesh burning. Wraith laughs, "You're just too damn stubborn to know when to give up. I'll make you a deal then, you come over here and kiss my boots and I'll make it stop."

I grit my teeth and say, "F-fuck y-you!"

Wraith shakes his head, "Don't say I didn't try."

He pushes a button on his remote and I scream as the pain intensifies. I can't even move… Then Wraith kicks me again and says, "Get her back in the cage."

I'm lifted up by hands with rubber gloves on them and tossed back into the cell. The door slams shut and Wraith smirks at me form the other side, "Like I said before, you need to remember your place. But just so you don't think I'm such a bad guy I'm making you these muties' leader. You're gunna help them learn to be killers just like you. And the best part is if they fuck up it'll be on your head. So you better heal fast 'cause tomorrow its gunna get a whole lot worse." He presses the button again and it all stops.

.

I think I blacked out for a few minutes from sheer relief because when I came to Wraith was gone and the blue elf guy was leaning over me staring. I push him away and try to sit up and my skin crackles. I look down to see my skin blackened in parts from the intense shocking. "Fuck, this is gunna take forever to heal…"

Cyclops sighs, "So you said you've been here a while, how long we talking?"

I force myself to sit up, hissing at the pain as my entire body screams out due to the fried nerve endings. I cough and say, "Too long… I've been here since I was four years old, so about 14 years."

Gorilla guy looks sad, "Dear God, how could one survive all this for that long?" "You learn to live, to cope-" Cyclops cuts me off, "To kill?"

"Yeah, to kill, but as you can tell my options are quite limited. So tell me, who are you people? I gotta know names if I'm going to your new leader…"

Some of my skin slowly begins to heal and I cringe. Cyclops huffs and lies down on his cot. Gorilla guy nods and says, "My name is Hank McCoy also known as Beast. My compatriot here is Scott and is, as you know, called Cyclops. The two ladies to my left are Ororo Munroe also known as Storm and Jean Grey. In the cell to your right, even though you can't see them, there is Iceman, Bobby Drake, and Colossus, Piotr Rasputin. As a team we call ourselves the X-men. Unfortunately I do not know the name of your blue cellmate."

"Beast huh? Well like I said my name is Kim, I don't like using either of my code names, Mimik aka Project Pandora."

It was Cyclops' turn to make fun, "Project Pandora? That's a great name." He chuckles and then goes silent again.

"It wasn't my first choice either, but when you look at it from the myth point of view it kinda makes sense…"

Beast nods, "They are claiming to be Pandora in a way, releasing all evil upon the world. And by the evil they mean you. Correct?"

I nod and then I look at the blue elf guy who's been surprising quiet this while time, "So may I ask you name, seeing as we'll be roomies and all."

He sighs, "Hallo mein name ist Kurt Wagner, aber Sie können mich anrufen Nightcrawler."

"German? Really? You can't speak English? How the hell have you lived this long?"

He shrugs. "Well there is no way I can stand listening to you talk like that if I don't have to, come here." I pat the spot next to where I'm leaning.

This is gunna kill my heal time, but there's no way I can have a team member who can't even speak. He walks over and crouches next to me, waving his tail. "I don't think this is gunna hurt but you should brace yourself, just in case."

I painfully lift a hand and touch his forehead and then I try to muster what energy I have left. I feel it shoot up into my hand and into Nightcrawler. Suddenly his eyes go wide, "Mein God! I can speak English now! Zank you! Vere did you learn to do such amazing sings?"

"Truthfully? I killed a mutant with multi-linguistic capabilities..." He pauses for a moment, shocked, and then he starts to continue rambling on in his German accent, but the lack of energy and the pain… I just couldn't stay conscious anymore…

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><p>"<strong>Hallo mein name ist Kurt Wagner, aber Sie können mich anrufen Nightcrawler." Means "Hello my name is Kurt Wagner, but you can call me Nightcrawler."<strong>


	3. Leading By Example

I do not own claim to any of the X-men (only my girl Mimik), and make no money from this. Please let me know what you think so far and I hope you enjoy the read.

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><p>I wake to the sound of Taps being played (Wraith's little joke) and over the loudspeaker I hear, "Rise and shine muties, it's time to start your first day of training!"<p>

I slowly stand up, the pain is almost gone. I brush off black flakes and realize that I've shifted back to my green self. I look around and realize all eyes are on me, oh well they were gunna find out eventually.

Nightcrawler walks over and stares, "You… are just like me!"

"No bub, we're nothing alike. Now come on, if we aren't all awake and waiting for him by the time he comes by, you're not gunna like the consequences…"

I walk over and stand by the cage and the others follow suit, looking tired and scared. I hear the door open and smell the stench of another pain in the ass. Sabertooth walks right up to my cage and grins at me showing off his sharp teeth.

"Oh look kids, the cleaning lady has showed up. Get tired of licking Wraith's boots?"

He chuckles, "Cute, but who's in the cage? I'm here to take you all to training. You're to look at the files we have on them and memorize them because you only get to see them once."

"They need to eat first; they can't last as long as I can without food. If they don't eat then they'll be useless on the field…"

Sabertooth frowns, "Wraith didn't say anything about feeding these little maggots."

"Well unless you want them all dead by the end of the week I suggest you get them some food, or at least take 'em to the cafeteria. It's not like they'll run away, you did insert the regulation detonation implants in their heads right?"

Sabertooth growls, "Of course I did! Fine then all of you follow me and don't try anything or else I'll press a little button and the bitch here will have to mop your little pieces up off the dirt." And he points his finger at me, "And if you try anything I'll press this other little button which will make you into a deep fried snack for Wraith."

I roll my eyes and he walks back towards the door and then all the cells pop open. Beast leads Cyclops out of their cell and I finally get a look at their other two team mates, a scrawny little mousey haired kid and a tall muscular guy with dark hair. I flick my tail and grab the scrawny one's arm as he goes to use his power, his fist becoming covered with ice.

"If you wanna live you better not do that."

He pulls his arm away and then looks at the ground with what looked like tears in his eyes. These kids aren't fit for this place… I was raised to take the punishment, but I doubt they'll even be able to handle today's training. We follow Sabertooth as he leads out of the barracks to the cafeteria. We're stopped outside as he sends some men inside to clear it out and we enter, watching some angry soldiers leave their breakfast, glaring at us.

He turns to us, "Go ahead, you got 15 minutes and then we're off. Except for you..." He points to me, "You don't get anything; you gotta look these over."

He waves the files at me and points to a chair next to him. I walk over and sit down and he tosses the files down on the table.

I look up at him and ask, "Is my file in here too?"

He laughs, "Do any of them look big enough to be yours?"

I glance down at the seven thin folders and sigh. So much for hoping… I open up the first one and quickly read through them all as well as the brief summary of all of them that one of the lab boys provided.

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><p><strong>Brief Overview<strong>

_**Scott Summers** _

**_Alias: _**_Cyclops_

_**Mutation:** Emits powerful energy beam from the eyes. Uses a ruby-quarts visor to control optic blasts_

_Team leader of the mutant team known as the X-men; level headed in combat, selfless, ethical, strong tactical and strategy skills_

_**Jean Grey** _

_**Alias:** Marvel Girl_

_**Mutation:** Telepathy and Telekinesis_

_Member of the mutant team known as X-men; caring, selfless, strong belief in the good of others_

_**Dr. Hank McCoy**_

_ **Alias: **__Beast_

_**Mutation:** Ape-like superhuman physical strength and agility, and heightened senses. Physical mutations include; blue fur covering entire body, overly large hands and feet, sharpened teeth, and claws_

_Scientist and medic of the mutant team known as the X-men; he is a well known authority in biochemistry and genetics, as well as proficient in mathematics, English literature, and politics_

_**Ororo Munro** _

**_Alias:_**_ Storm_

_**Mutation:** Weather manipulation, flight, energy perception, resistance of effects of the weather_

_Second in command of the mutant team known as the X-men; excellent leadership skills, independent, strong willed, proficient lock pick, protective, was once considered a goddess among her tribe in Africa_

_**Robert Drake** _

_**Alias:** Iceman_

_**Mutation:** Can lower his body temperature rapidly, emanating cold directly from his body, can resist sub-zero temperatures, cryokenetic where he can manipulate water molecules around him to create various forms of ice, can also change his entire body into ice, maintaining mobility as if he were human. _

_A member of the mutant team known as the X-men; he is honest, brave, impetuous at times, but a team player when the need is called for_

**_Piotr Rasputin _**

_**Alias:** Colossus_

_**Mutation:** Can transform his body into an organic, steel-like substance granting him superhuman strength, the ability to resist extreme temperatures and ballistics, as well as enhanced speed and endurance_

_A recently recruited member of the mutant team known as the X-men; reason for allying himself with the X-men is unknown at this time, quiet, honest, artistic, reluctant to use his powers for combat, physically he is strong and imposing without the use of his powers_

**_Kurt Wagner _**

_**Alias: **Nightcrawler_

_**Mutation:** Can teleport various distances with various additional masses with him, also has superhuman agility, "adhesive" hands and feet, and a mild invisibility when in deep shadow. Physical mutations include; a fine dark blue fur covering his entire __body, __two__ fingers with an opposable thumb on each hand and only two toes, each longer than a normal human being's, on each foot and a third toe-like projection on his heel, as well as pronounced, fang-like canine teeth, yellow eyes, pointed ears, and 3.5' long prehensile tail that can support his own body weight_

_A rogue mutant captured in Germany; extremely religious, merciful, humorous, spontaneous, hero-like image of himself, and entertains the thought of being a "swashbuckler"_

* * *

><p>I've only skimmed through the sections detailing their entire known life's history, but shit... I've been pinned with the Brady Bunch...<p>

After the fifteen minutes of ravenous silence were up Sabertooth rounds up the X-men, Nightcrawler (who looked very sad to not be able to finish his food) and I and marches us out to the training grounds.

He looks at me and says, "You're to begin training them as you would your previous unit, prepping them for any scenario that may happen on one of your missions. The grounds have guards all around it and you still have the detonation implants to worry about. So have fun freaks, I'll be back when Wraith says it's your bed time."

"You know, I can't wait for the day when Wraith decides he no longer needs you anymore and throws you into the cell right next to mine."

He growls and walks away. Someday I'm going to kick his ass so hard… Beast clears his throat to get my attention, Oh right… This gunna be a little weird being in charge of a mutant team…

"Alright guys, line up!"

I wait and they all just stare at me, I flick my tail, "Look we may very well have all day, but I'm not the patient type, so line up now."

Iceman looks at me annoyed, "So you aren't gunna help us escape then?"

"No."

He starts to get teary-eyed again and so I rush up to him and grab the collar of his black uniform, "Look kid, you need to grow a pair 'cause this ain't the sissy real world you used to live in anymore. This here is hell and if you all don't start listening they're gunna remove me from being in charge and put someone like Sabertooth as your leader and I don't know what you know about him but trust me you wouldn't want that."

I toss him to the ground and Colossus helps him up, "Now look, if you guys want to survive for as long as possible in this place, then you need to listen, take orders, and do what must be done. When we are out here I am no longer your friend or whatever, I am your leader and boss and what I say goes. Understood?"

I glare at them and they mumble their agreement.

"Now you, Cyclops, you're gunna need these."

I toss him his visor that Sabertooth handed to me before he left. He smiles as he puts them on and looks around and then stares, smiling at Jean.

"Alrighty, I was informed that you are to be trained as a whole and as separate groups and so I am putting Cyclops, Iceman, Nightcrawler and Beast into one group and the other will be Marvel Girl, Storm, Colossus and I."

Nightcrawler meekly raises his hand. "What?" He stammers, "Vell ve vere all hoping you vould tell us vhat exactly you're mutant abilities are?"

"Well, I guess that's fair enough. Basically I'm a shape shifter with the ability to mimic your mutant ability as you saw with how I copied Cyclops' power back in the barracks. I also have enhanced senses and the ability to rapidly heal myself as you can see."

Jean speaks, "Then how did you instantly teach Kurt how to speak English?"

"As I said ealier I had disposed of a mutant with the ability to translate any language he came in contact with and was able to allow others the same luxury. I think he called himself Babel or what not... I just used his powers on blue-boy over there." She frowns obviously displeased with my answer.

"Now I don't know if you saw before, but I also have these." I hear the snikt, snikt as my claws emerge. "They are made out of-"

Beast interrupts me, "Adamantium, yes Wolverine has the same amazing metal covering his skeletal structure as well."

"These aren't 'covering' my bones bub, they ARE my bones. The good doctor did a complete surgical swap, when I was about… seven, I think."

They all looked horrified and some gasp, saying things like, "Dear God" and "Holy shit."

"Ok, ok, enough about me. It's nearly 7am, we're losing precious daylight." They all start bitching and I sigh, this is gunna suck…

.

I begin their training with a quick warm up, watching how they use their powers to traverse the obstacle course together. Then I set them off to achieve specific goals set throughout the courses.

They seem to already have quite a bit of combat training under their belts with Nightcrawler quickly picking up on how they do things. Even though they seem combat ready I don't think they can be trained to kill.

It's like being do-gooders is in their blood or something. But I'm sure if Wraith has anything to say about it, that blood will be quickly drained right out of them.

The weak link seems to be Iceman, he seems to be a noob even for their standards and for that I'm afraid for him…

At the end of one of their sessions I stop them, sweating and already tired.

"Take a quick ten minute break and then back to training."

Storm speaks up for what the others were thinking, "Don't you think you're being too hard on us?"

"No. I don't. You don't know Wraith like is like, I do. He'll push you ten times harder, he doesn't care if you live or die. You are just pawns to use in his little anti-mutant war. In order to keep you alive I need to teach you to be merciless, ruthless, to forgo things like food and sleep, and to be able to kill someone now and feel bad about it later. And I'm sorry but until we figure out some way to get out of here for good, I need to continue pushing for your own good and for mine."

Cyclops balls his hands into fists and says, "You're asking us to become monsters? To just kill innocent people? That is not what the X-men stand for! We fight for equal rights for humans and mutants alike."

"Oh to live in the sweet delusional world that you live in… Like I said, I'm sorry but I got as much of a choice in this as you do…"

Jean walks up to me and puts a hand on my arm, "How many people has he made you hurt?"

I laugh coldly, "Hurt? I couldn't even begin to count, but kill? I've killed a lot of people, mutant and human, good or evil, willingly, or unwillingly. My memories have been toyed with and altered, but I still see every single face every day."

I push her back, "And I don't need your or anybody else's sympathy. I live with my nightmares and soon you'll learn to live with yours. Now back to training! We'll use the holographic simulators and test your mettle as killers."

They all begin to argue with me, except for Colossus and Nightcrawler who just stand there with sad eyes for me. I get angry, how dare they feel sorry for me? And how can they argue about simple training that I had to cover when I was six? They got to get away with their cushy little lives only having to deal with zits when I had to deal with fear of being whipped as punishment for failure.

I shout and then shift to a mutant I recently terminated. His mutation caused him to become a large blue dragon-like creature. They instantly shut up.

"Now you pathetic little excuses for mutants stop bitching and get back to training! I am not going to be accused of failure because of you!"

They all slowly walk out towards the simulation field, except for Nightcrawler who looks at me and says, "Remember fraulien, God is always wiz you and loves and protects you no matter vhat." Then he ports and joins the others.

I slump and shift back, what more could go wrong this week? Suddenly it begins to downpour and I look up to see a tiny raincloud centered only above me. Storm… Great…

.

By midnight Wraith sends his goons to bring us back to our cells. None of the others are even speaking to me now seeing as I forced each one of them kill at least 3 people each in simulation. There were a lot of tears and shouting and anger, but they did it at least.

As we reach the barracks the others get taken inside and I get pulled aside. It was Sean Talbot, one of the nicer men from my unit, or what was MY unit.

"What's up Talbot?"

He looks at the ground and says, "Wraith wants to see you… In the interrogation room…"

"Interrogation room? Why? What did I do wrong?"

He shakes his head, "I don't know, I was only told to come get you."

He heads off towards the main building and I follow.

The interrogation room is actually just Wraith's torture room. Whenever he's called me in there I end up not being able to walk for three days.

As we approach the door I begin to tremble slightly and I can smell the fear, blood, and pain coming from that room.

Talbot stops and then looks at me as if saying sorry and then opens the door for me. I hesitate and then walk in…

.

The room was just how I remembered it, dark, with chains on the floor and walls, scratches and stains that look suspiciously like blood.

The only thing reminiscent of an actual interrogation room is the desk with a folding chair on either side.

The doors slams shut and I jump.

At that desk was Wraith whose eyes lit up at the site of me shaking in my boots, "Ah, Kim, so how's the teaching job treating you?"

He sits forward eagerly waiting for my answer.

"I've been trying but they're stubborn, they refuse to hurt anyone. I've forced them to do simulations but they seem set in their ways and I can't break them. They are quite battle ready though…"

He laughs, "Being a bunch of goody two-shoes huh? We can soon fix that, I'll have each one give me a little visit here and-"

"No! I- I mean… I don't know if they could handle a visit here quite yet… I was thinking maybe some live action training. Maybe a mission I could take them on so maybe we could get their killer instincts in gear?"

He stands up and I flinch, "That's my girl! You've grown up so fast! I like this idea and I think I have the perfect mission for you all."

I let out a sigh of relief.

He walks around the desk and says, "But what if they refuse to kill? Hmm, how should we prove to them that we mean business? What do you think Sabertooth?"

I go wide-eyed and see Sabertooth come out of the shadows in the corner, how did I miss him?

He grins and says, "We should show them an example of what will happen to them if they don't listen."

Wraith gets this malicious smile and says, "Excellent idea."

I back towards the door, shaking in terror as I see Sabertooth toss Wraith his favorite toy, a barbed whip.

Wraith then pulls out his remote and presses a button. I fall to the floor in painful spasms and Sabertooth walks over and picks me up with rubber gloves on and then hooks me up to the chains on the floor. My ankles and wrists chained up as I sit on my knees on the floor.

I wrap my tail around my leg and shift ever so slightly so there is a mouth guard protecting me from biting off my own tongue. I've done that before and it wasn't too pleasant re-growing it.

The pain from the electricity is a welcome numbing now, so maybe I won't feel the full affect of the whip.

I guess Wraith was thinking the same thing because suddenly it stopped…

And then I heard a crack and let loose a muffled scream as the whip came down hard against my already scarred back. I can already guess the pattern he'll go for…

Sabertooth walks around into view and then kneels down in front of me, grabbing the sides of my face, "Fix it, now. I wanna hear you scream."

I reluctantly shift back and he smiles and stands, nodding to Wraith. I hear another crack and I scream…


	4. First Mission

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and i make no money from this. Please review, let me know what your thinking, I'd really appreciate it!

* * *

><p>Hours later I get dragged barely conscious and bleeding profusely back to the barracks. The others are sleeping and the soldiers don't turn on the lights to wake them.<p>

I get tossed back into my cell and I just lie there on the cold floor, too tired and weak to bother crawling to the cot. When the lights suddenly flash on everyone startles awake.

I knew the first one to see me was Nightcrawler, because I heard his horrified whisper, "Mien god!"

He hurries over to me kneeling next to me hands hovering over my back, scared to touch me. He looks at Beast and Cyclops who are now paying attention as well, "Vhat should I do?"

I cough up a bit of blood from my bitten tongue, "Nothing you can do bub, just go back to sleep. I'll be right as rain tomorrow…"

Cyclops viciously whispers, "This is what you want us to become?"

I smile, "You wouldn't last being me. And so that's why I'm you're new whipping girl. Get it?"

I choke out a laugh, "If you fuck up, fail, or even refuse to brush your fucking teeth, it's my fault. That's why I was made leader, so you could live longer…"

Jean starts crying, "I'm sorry, oh god, I'm so sorry."

I struggle to get on my hands and knees, my arms shaking as I try and hold myself up, "Don't. Don't cry, don't feel sorry for me. I don't need your fucking sympathy. I've lived longer than anyone who's ever felt sorry for me and truth be told, I'll probably live longer than all of you. So all of you go back the fuck to sleep and leave me alone."

I crawl over to my cot and slowly, painfully lift myself up. Nightcrawler comes over and helps me up despite me saying, "Get off me! Go away!"

I lie on my stomach on the cot and listen to Beast calming down Cyclops, Storm comforting a crying Jean and Bobby asking what just happened.

The raw bloody flesh on my back a reminder to all of them about who they belong to in Wraith's scar pattern of choice, an X.

.

I wake to Taps playing again and see that no one is talking to me or even looking at me now. Sabertooth doesn't show up this time, it's just one of Wraith's lackeys. He takes us to the cafeteria and I'm actually allowed to eat. Must be they don't want me to run low on energy, makes me suspicious as to what they're planning…

We're all then taken to the training grounds and I start on the basic stuff. I watch them as they progressively become colder, they're still not ready to become actual killers, but give me a week and have Wraith provide them with a few more examples and they'll learn.

At least they won't have to undergo the same kind of experimentation I did.

After they surgically replaced my bones when I was about seven years old I went berserk, completely uncontrollable. My blind rage caused me to destroy the entire lab they had set up for the adamantium experiments. They lost too much data and equipment to be able to repeat the process for another mutant.

I had to go through an entire year of retraining in order for them to actually be able to use me again.

Every once in a while I have these fits of rage, everything just goes red and I start attacking everyone. I've been good lately but I have a feeling one is long overdue. Wraith just tends to bring out the worst in me, which is probably something he does on purpose now that I think about it.

I smell someone familiar and turn to see Wraith walking up to the grounds with his goons and Sabertooth.

I go to call the X-men and Wraith holds up his hand to stop me. He walks up and stands next to me watching the two teams run their courses.

I watch him out of the corner of my eye; he's acting quite… normal. He keeps watching them and asks me, "So you think they are ready for a mission huh? You think they'll be able to take out a couple of targets for me?"

I nod, "If pushed them right they might be able to take out a few, but not a whole base or anything like that, not yet."

He nods, "Call them in and bring them to the briefing room, I got a high class priority mission on the list for you all."

He walks away, Sabertooth right on his heels. A couple of his goons stay behind and wait for me to gather them up.

I sigh and snap my fingers, the sound echoes throughout the grounds sending little balls of light to appear in front of each of the mutants.

It was a basic little power I stole from a kid who the Doctor had brought in, thinking he'd have more power than he did. He didn't make it through the first gene alteration.

They all stop what they were doing at the signal and walk over to me, tired, angry, and sad.

"Wraith wants us all in the briefing room; he's got something for us to do."

They just glare, Cyclops especially, like he can just blame everything that's been happening to him on me. Nightcrawler on the other hand smiles at me and nods slightly.

We follow the goons to the main building and into the briefing room, which is like a huge control room. It's got a huge monitor, a holographic projector, and computers with qualified soldiers manning them. It's where they keep track of mutant activities and world happenings that need their attention.

Wraith is there, standing in front of the large monitor, waiting. I step forward and they all line up behind me.

Wraith turns and smiles, "It looks like you've gotten them trained pretty well so far."

He eyes the group behind me and says, "Well muties, it's time for you first live action mission."

I can bet they gave him a scared look or something 'cause he gave a satisfied grin and then turned to the screen which started showing us pictures of a building in the middle of a desert.

He points to the building, "That there is the hideout of a biochemical terrorist organization. As we speak they're putting the final touches on a weapon massive enough to take out the US' entire Eastern seaboard in one fell swoop. We'd have our men take them out ourselves, but only problem is they have a security system so tight a human couldn't get through there. And that's where you mutants come in."

I didn't remark on the fact about how he technically said that we weren't human.

"How many targets Sir?" I just know he grinned at that one.

The pictures change and it shows a layout of the building with an X in one of the rooms and then pictures of two men next to it.

He points to the x, "The weapon is there in the center of the building heavily guarded, you don't have to kill the guards, they have no information of use, just incapacitate them. The two men here are you targets; they are the scientists in charge of making the weapon. They are the ones with the information and they're the ones who need to be dealt with."

I can sense the others behind me tense up, "Any directions for approach and execution, Sir?"

He nods, "Seeing as you have the two teams I'm gunna have one team go in through the front and head for the scientists, while the other team goes in through the back and heads for the bomb. I want your team on the scientists and the other on the bomb and as for the final execution of the men; I'll give you addition information come time."

"And when are we conducting this assault?"

He turns to look at me, "You all leave in the morning and Sabertooth will be heading the operation from your ride out and will be your eyes and ears for any unforeseen problems. Is everything clear?"

"Transparently, Sir."

He smirks, "Good and I don't think I need remind you of what will happen if you or your team fails me in anyway?"

"N-no sir."

He chuckles and then waves his hand to his men. They escort us back to the cells and leave. I sit on my cot and contemplate the mission.

I could've done this on my own… Is he that desperate to twist these kids? Who are they that they would perk his interest to begin with? Why are they so important to him? I am their weapon; they don't need any more mutants with limited powers.

I walk to the front of the cage and sit down cross legged, looking at Beast and Cyclops. "So who exactly are the X-men?"

Bobby pipes up from next door, "We are duh, and I thought you were at least that smart."

"I know that, I mean as a team, who are you guys? What do you stand for? Why are you known?"

Beast understands, "The X-men were one of the first mutant faces in the world. When the mutant revelation happened we led the way into mainstreaming; helping other mutants to come into the world without fear of persecution. We fight for equal rights for both mutant and human and we stop those who wish to ruin that."

"I see, so you're like the mutant ambassadors to the world then?"

Cyclops snorts, "Well we were until your buddy, Wraith, attacked our home and kidnapped us. Who knows what happened to the Professor."

"HE. IS. NOT. MY. _BUDDY_!"

Cyclops looks at me, touching his newly reclaimed visor, threatening me, "Then why were you kissing his ass back there?"

"BECAUSE I'M TERRIFIED OF HIM! There, you happy I said it? If you haven't noticed he likes causing pain, lots of it. I've lived here for 14 years and when he was hired onto the project my life turned into a nightmare, more than it already was. I've learned that if you obey, do everything he says down to the letter, he takes it a bit easier on you 'cause it takes a bit more for him to muster up enough anger to really hurt you."

He drops his hand, looking at the ground.

"And now I know why he wants you guys so badly. If you are the mutant's public face, what would happen if he turned you all into mindless killers?"

Beast sits up straight, "That would cause mass anti-mutant hysteria. It would-"

"Start a war? Yeah, it would be the war that he's been dreaming about for years."

Storm slides closer to the corner of the cell so she can see me, "So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know if there's anything you can do. You disobey, you may not live to brag about it and if you do obey him and actually start killing people, then we may not have much of a planet left… I've killed people, most of them while I was under their mind control therapies. But you guys won't have to worry about the mutant they were using for that, she had the misfortune of being in a room when… Let's just say she's not around anymore."

Cyclops crosses his arms, "So what? Are we just gunna sit by as the whole world goes to hell?"

"Personally I couldn't give a rat's ass about what happens to anyone else, but I'm sure you all will be devastated and probably have a mental break down if things were to escalate like that. And I don't think I'm willing to deal with a bunch of whine-asses, crying every time you so much as poke a kitten."

Nightcrawler shakes his head, "Even though you have given up on the vurld, the vurld has not given up on you."

I sneer at him, "I don't need a pep talk from the happy go lucky committee, so shut up."

He frowns but continues to look determined.

"Now look, it's my team that is going after the scientists and I have an idea to help keep your reps clean. There's no helping my record, but if you ever get out of here and anything about this place gets leaked, you won't have blood on your dainty hands."

Beast seems sad but interested, "So what are you thinking?"

"I'll let you know when you need to know. These walls have ears…"

He nods and looks up at the newly installed camera on the ceiling.

"Now you should all try to get some sleep if you can. You're gunna need as much energy as you can muster cause tomorrow you gotta help save the world."

I chuckle at my poor attempt at humor and then get up and walk back over to my cot. I hope everything goes well tomorrow, I'd like to not get more scars if possible…

.

We were woken early and hurried to the cafeteria and told to eat fast and then we were all taken to the airfields where they had a stealth jet prepped and ready for takeoff.

Once we all got onboard Sabertooth passes out communicator earpieces and says, "Once we get there I want information every two minutes.

He picks up a small bag and tosses it to Cyclops, "These are your compact bombs; I want you to place them throughout the facility as you head to the target, when there you are to place the rest around it and then get out of there as soon as you can."

He tosses another bag at me, "The same goes for your team on the way to your targets. Once both are taken care of you have three minutes to exit the building before I set 'em off and it goes up in flames."

I grip the bag and nod, I hate having to take orders from this asshole.

We arrive after a two hour flight and Sabertooth says, "We got you all as close we can without being seen, you're gunna have to walk the rest, it's about 5 clicks North and don't let the looks fool ya, it's supposed to look like an old abandoned warehouse."

We all get off the jet and it takes off again. We seem to be in a huge flat desert; barely any signs of wildlife what so ever.

I look at Nightcrawler, "Exactly how far can you go and how many can you take with you?" He thinks for a second, "About two miles and three other people besides me."

"Ok good, I'll take the rest and we'll port twice to get in as close as possible before we go into stealth mode."

I grab hold of my team members, Storm, Jean, and Colossus and port northwards as Nightcrawler does the same with Beast, Cyclops, and Iceman. We end up looking at the facility from a small ridge about a mile away.

"Ok Storm I want a bit of rain with heavy fog and make it seem to come up somewhat naturally so we don't raise too many suspicions."

Slowly rainclouds begin to form and generate a gradual fog. Once she's done I tell the second team to make their way around back and let me know when they're in position. I inform Sabertooth that we're about to head in and we'll keep in touch as we go. I get Cyclops' go ahead and we begin the approach slowly moving through the fog, my senses on full alert.

I whisper to Jean, "Let me know if you catch anyone's thoughts nearby, the rain may mute their scents."

She nods silently and we continue towards the building. We reach the front door without any trouble what so ever and I hear the same from the other team. I check the door and find a hidden pass code system.

"Sabertooth, do you have access codes or am I using my key?"

Sabertooth replies over the earpiece, "Go ahead and use the key."

I extract the claws on my right hand and punch them into the keypad. It sparks and then beeps, unlocking the door.

"I love that trick."

I slowly open the door and peek inside, seeing a guard, and so as I open the door fully I shift to look like him in his blue uniform and walk up to him. He holds out his hand and asks for ID what seems to be Iranian. I hold up my hand peacefully and then deck him in the face, knocking him out cold. I check the adjacent rooms and hall and signal to the other so to come in because it's clear.

Jean looks at the guard, "Why does this place seem so empty? I thought it was well guarded."

"It is, but not just by people." I point to the hallway leading into the facility.

"The floor and walls have electronic trips and lasers that will sound the alarm as you as you walk across it, unless you have someone further in to disable it."

I point out holes in the wall, "That there either contains a sleeping gas or deadly high powered lasers as a secondary measure. But this is actually not as high tech as I was expecting for these guys. Do you sense anybody at the end of the hall Jean?"

She glares at me, "I'm not a human radar."

"Listen, if we don't get this done, then there will be thousands of people killed and I'm sure that won't sit well on your conscience."

She sighs, "Fine, there are three guards in a room at the end of this hall; I think they're playing cards in the security room."

"Ok, Storm a little bit of mist if you would."

She calls up a thin mist to flood the hall and I watch as all the laser trips become visible, "Ok I'll be right back, Colossus, block the door so no one else can get in."

Storm puts a hand on my shoulder, "Are you going to stop them alone?"

"I'll get in there and shut off the security system for the whole building, giving and the boys in the back an easier time. Don't worry I got this, I can do this kind of stuff in my sleep."

I wrap my tail around my legs and then copy Nightcrawler's ability to stick to walls and jump up to the ceiling. I crawl, upside-down along the ceiling avoiding all the lasers and at the end of the hall I sniff, trying to find the room the guards are in. To my right is a door with a keycard swipe and a stink of sweat and booze.

I drop down and knock on the door, turning into a hot, leggy, blonde chick. One of the men opens the door and grins, saying to his buddies that a new toy just showed up. One asked how I got in, but didn't really seem to care.

I walk inside and close the door, smiling invitingly at the three men. They all stand up and walk over to me and then I strike, hitting pressure points on all of them so they drop without a peep.

I head over to the control system and look it over, it seems pretty basic.

I press a few buttons and pull up the security override, "Sabertooth?"

The earpiece crackles, "What runt?"

"You got any info on the security override code? I don't know if we got the time to spare to hack it."

He grumbles, "You're lucky our informant gave us that one, it's HYDRABX1."

"Hydra? Really? They're involved in this? That's just great…"

I type in the simplistic password and it opens up, I shut down the entire security grid.

"Alright guys come on through its all good."

"Cyclops you guys hear that?"

He sounds breathless, "Got it, we're almost there, they have a lot of men guarding this area back here."

Must be they didn't expect someone to come walking in their front door. I throw a few bombs around the room and step out and meet up with Storm, Jean, and Colossus.

"Alright guys almost there, come on."

We head down the corridors, following a mental image of the map Wraith showed us.

I pass by a room and then get jumped by a couple guards that were coming out. Colossus picks them both up off me and he knocks their heads together and then tosses them back in the room. He then offers a hand and helps me up.

"Thanks." He just nods.

After a few twists, tossed bombs, and turns and locked doors we end up at the final door.

I look at the others, "You ready for this?"

Storm frowns, "It's not like we have much of a choice in the matter."

I unsheathe my claws and wrench the door open.

.

The room was huge and you could definitely tell it was a laboratory. It was covered in computers, test tubes, microscopes, charts, and other tables scattered with stuff. And in the corner of the room were two men huddled in fear.

"Sabertooth, we've found them."

He chuckles in my ear, "Good, now Wraith gave specific orders that the red head and the water witch are the ones to perform the extermination."

Jean goes wide-eyed, "I-I can't…"

Sabertooth growls and says, "You can and you will, Wraith told me if you refuse to comply that I get to detonate pretty boy's implant."

I walk over and grab the two scientists who are now begging for their lives, crying and talking about their families in some Middle Eastern language or other.

I shove one off onto Colossus and tell Storm, "Do it. He was willing to help kills thousands of people."

Storm shakes her head and I sigh, frustrated. Please let this work…

I use Jean's power and communicate to her via telepathy, "_Play along, charge up some electricity and give him a shock. Not enough to kill just enough to really hurt. OK?" _

She looks at me, confused at first and then nods, building up an electric charge between her hands. I hold the old man's arms behind his back, his strength still from his younger days, but no match for me. She shocks him and then I send another wave through him, stopping his heart and brain.

He goes limp and I drop him and then look to Jean, "You're turn."

She starts crying and over the earpiece Sabertooth threatens Cyclops safety and then we hear a scream come through the earpiece, Cyclops' scream. I run over and grab her hand using her power to communicate with her too.

"_You don't have to kill him, just use enough power to give a massively painful headache; I'll take care of the rest. They can track your energy spikes and so this way it makes it seem like you killed him._"

She grips my hand and then points her other hand and the younger, dark haired scientist who is crying and struggling uselessly in Colossus' steel grip. He starts to scream in pain and then I secretly gesture my hand towards him as well and then overload his brain and his head bursts, splattering Colossus with brain matter and such.

He drops the body with a look of disgust and horror. I shoot water out of my hand at him and rinse off the gore. He nods his thanks, still shaken.

"Hey Furball, it's done. Storm and jean did what you ordered, now let Cyclops get back to his end of the mission."

He grumbles, "Bout time, now toss the rest of your bombs and get out of there."

Beast's trembling voice comes over the earpiece, "We have a problem here. The bomb has been remotely armed and is set to go off in ten minutes."

Sabertooth start swearing up a storm and I take action, "Alright you three get outta here and meet at the extraction point. Beast, I need you and the other to get out of there too and make it snappy cause we got less than ten minutes now."

Nightcrawler buts in, "But vhat about you and ze bomb?"

"Don't worry about me you all need to get out of the blast radius if I happen to fail."

I push them out of the room and run out after them, "Now get going our part of the mission is done anyways."

They hesitate and then run for the exit but I head the opposite direction. I continue to follow my mental map and know I'm in the right area when I start seeing unconscious guards throughout the halls.

"Sabertooth, do you have the schematics on this bomb?"

Silence… "Sabertooth!"

I hear mumbling, "Yeah, yeah I heard you. Give me a minute…"

"We don't have too much time to spare you know."

I finally reach the room and find an empty table with a small round device on it. I run up to it and see it to be completely barren of any buttons or symbols except for a little LED screen which read five minutes left and counting.

"How's it coming Fuzzhead?"

"I've got it, but how's that gunna help you? You can't see it…"

"Remember that one tech mutant, the one who could link into electronic signals?" Sabertooth grunts in acknowledgment.

"Beast, have you gotten back on the plane with him yet?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"I need you to translate the schematics into a tonal binary and play it over the earpiece. Are you able to do that?"

Beast doesn't answer at first, "I believe so, I may need a few minutes, I-"

"You have less than three."

I slowly start to peel back the casing and discover the amazing technological chemical combination underneath. The wiring seems to have a good failsafe that could instantly trigger the bomb.

"Minute thirty left, Beast."

After a moment of silence I hear it and shift to the mutant I spoke of. My different hearing abilities instantly translate the tones I hear into an image in my head. When I got the full image I search for the wires and chip set that I need. It was hidden under another panel beneath the chemicals. I short circuit the chip and resistor there and then clipped a yellow wire. The timer stopped at exactly four seconds…

"Kim? Kim? You there? Did it work?"

"Yes Creed, I'm still alive. Arm those bombs and get me the fuck out of this sandbox."

.

I pull out the chemicals, making sure they are separated before I port out of the building to the ridge and find Nightcrawler waiting for me there. His face lights up when he sees me, but he doesn't say anything. We port back to the rendezvous point and get back on the jet.

Sabertooth gets the pilots to get us in the air and then turns to me.

"What the fuck was that? What happened in there?"

"It would seem that one of the scientists was able to set the timer on the bomb before the girls took 'em out. So I fixed it."

He throws his headset to the ground, smashing it, "You could've just let the fucker blow and we wouldn't have had to go through that shit."

"If that bomb had gone off and the fumes and debris got caught up in the wind it would've eventually created a poison rain taking out most of the Middle East and then even spreading further. Instead of dealing with hundreds of thousands dead we would've had millions and what would Wraith have said about that?"

He slugs me in the face and then sits down, frustrated and pissed.

I rub my jaw, "Careful there Creed, you wouldn't want me thinking that you were actually worried about me."

He growls and leans back in his seat. The others were watching this display in awe. I look at Storm and Jean and they're didn't even look unhappy. I glare at them and make a crying motion with my hands. They suddenly switch to melancholy and Jean starts up some tears. The others look confused at that exchange, but don't say anything.

I walk over to Cyclops, "Good leadership out there. I can see why you were made their leader to begin with."

He smirks and says, "You were pretty good yourself, I guess."

Beast looks at me and says, "Tonal binary into images via thought process? That is brilliant."

"I'm just glad you're genius enough to figure how to create something like that. Or else I would be a shiny metal prop for some sci-fi horror movie"

With the X-men in higher spirits for once I sit down and close my eyes, taking a nap before we get back to the base.


	5. Someone Familiar

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy! ^^

* * *

><p>We get back to the facility and Sabertooth stomps off to go report to Wraith and we all get escorted to the barracks.<p>

I listen as Cyclops tells Storm, Jean, and Colossus about the hoards of guards they had to deal with. They act as if it was a major victory…

Luckily Jean is still silent and depressed, but Storm is acting too cheerful for somebody who just 'killed' someone for the first time.

When we get put in the cells I go to lie down and try to get some more sleep before something new comes up, but they all keep chatting excitedly amongst each other, so I lie on my stomach with my poor excuse for a pillow over my head and eventually I dose off.

After what only feels like a few minutes I'm suddenly awakened by being ripped of the cot by my tail and then dragged into the hallway while I try to claw and scrabble at the floor.

I'm released and I turn over to see Wraith, angrier than I have seen him in a very long time. He pulls out his gun, aiming at my face, and then he puts his boot on my neck hard, choking me.

"Wha-what did I do?"

He turns off the safety, "Don't fuck with me bitch! You know exactly what you did!"

I try to push his boot off and with his empty hand he pulls out the remote and presses the button. I spasm and lose the strength to do so.

He laughs like a mad man, "I know you're fucked up in the head but I didn't think that stopped you from being able to comprehend basic orders."

I try to choke out a word but he presses his boot down harder.

He looks at the surrounding cells, "You see what you all make me have to do? You refuse to listen and obey simple orders. I warn you what happens when you fuck up and you still do it."

They are yelling at him to stop and he fires a shot into my shoulder, I yell out and they all shut up.

He points the gun at the girls and looks at me, "You think that little stunt would go unnoticed? I mean look at them, no tears, no break downs, they basically gave you away. But I knew before seeing them thanks to our boys behind the computers. At the exact time they used their powers you used yours, didn't ya? Trying to be sneaky, thinking we wouldn't know what was goin' on?"

I turn my head enough, "I – I'm sorry. They wouldn't have done it. Please-"

He shoots my in the stomach this time, "Shut the fuck up! I swear if I could find a way to fucking kill you I would!"

I start to cough up blood while choking.

Nightcrawler yells at him, "Stop it, you mad man! You are going to kill her!"

Wraith points the gun at him, "Weren't you listening boy? She can't die, believe me I have tried every trick in the book. Now would you rather take these bullets or… Let. Her. Take. Them?"

He stresses each of those words with a shot into my chest. Nightcrawler goes to say something else but

Wraith points his gun back at him, "Go ahead, I would really LOVE to kill a mutie right now."

I slowly raise my hand and let my claws come out, getting painfully close to stabbing him in the foot. He doesn't seem to notice assuming I'm just bleeding out beneath him.

I get ready to stab him when Sabertooth runs into the hall, "Sir! You really need to come out and see this."

Wraith points his gun at him now, "As you can see I'm in the middle of a lesson."

Sabertooth shakes his head, his mane of hair waving wildly, "Your gunna want to see this more than teaching. We've acquired someone you've really wanted to meet."

Wraith goes wide-eyed, "Really now? Looks like I will have to put this on hold."

He stomps down on my neck and shoots me again, "Don't go anywhere."

He chuckles and then walks away with Sabertooth.

Nightcrawler runs out of the open cage and asks, "What can I do?"

I cough and try to shake my head but the electricity is still flowing. He tries to touch my shoulder and gets shocked, quickly pulling away his hand.

Damn it! I hate feeling this helpless; my healing is just too slow like this.

.

The time seemed to drag on feeling like excruciating hours when it was actually only a few minutes.

The door at the end of the hall slams open again and Wraith comes marching in, looking like he just won the lottery.

Behind him are a couple of his goons who are aiming their guns at someone I couldn't see.

Wraith stops at the edge of my blood pool and grins, "Looks like today is your lucky day, I just got a new play toy."

The hidden person stumbles forward and lands on his knees nearby after someone shoves him, I can hear Sabertooth's growl.

If I wasn't writhing in pain I could've jumped for joy, it was Wolverine!

Wraith pats him on the shoulder, "He just waltzed right up to our front gate asking to be let in."

Wraith motions to one of his men, "Of course we are going to have to make some changes in who belongs in what cell to make room for our honored guest."

The soldier steps over me and grabs Nightcrawler by the collar as another soldier opens up the door to Beast and Cyclops' cell. The one holding Nightcrawler tosses him into the cell as hard as he could and then slams the door.

Wraith pulls out his remote and turns off the electricity, I violently cough in relief.

"I figured since you two were such great pals that you wouldn't mind sharing a cell. He grabs the collar of my bloody leather coat and drags me back into the cell, leaving a thick blood trail behind us. Then he just drops me, my head cracking against the steel floor.

Sabertooth walks over to Wraith and whispers, "Are you sure you wanna put them in the same cell? I mean-"

Wraith glares at him, "Jealous?"

Sabertooth shakes his head and picks up Wolverine and kicks him into the cell. Wolverine just grunts and glares at Sabertooth, I could sense that he wanted nothing more than to get up and kick his ass.

Wraith shuts the cell door and smiles menacingly at Wolverine, "Welcome back Weapon X, I do hope you'll stay longer this time, much longer."

He walks away laughing with his men following. Sabertooth lingers growling menacingly at Wolverine and then after casting a quick look my way he leaves too. He almost looked…sad.

Once the door shut the X-men start talking at once, but Wolverine just walks over to me, kneeling and assessing my wounds.

I try to smile, but grimace instead. I haven't seen him since I was seven, when I helped him escape this hell hole.

He shakes his head in disgust, "Wow kiddo, he really did a number on you huh?"

He doesn't ask if I'm dying or anything, like he just _knows_ that I have a healing factor.

I cough up more blood and a worried Nightcrawler says, "I think you may have to remove ze bullets so her healing can verk faster."

Wolverine throws an odd glance his way but nods, "Yeah makes sense, how many she got in her?"

Beast speaks, "I do believe he shot her seven times, Logan. Mostly in the chest as you can see, but the shoulder and stomach as well." I am so glad he's got such an attention to detail.

Wolverine looks at me with pity in his eyes, "This is probably gunna hurt kid."

I choke out a wet laugh and manage to say, "I've had worse, bub."

He nods and holds his hand over my shoulder. I brace myself and then he plunges his fingers deep into the wound searching for the first bullet.

I hiss and clench my fist, but I don't move and after what seems like forever the pulls out the first bullet, flattened into a small disc about an inch and a half in diameter. No wonder it hurts this much…

He moves his way down to my stomach removing all seven discs and as he does the first hole begins to heal ever so slowly and the blood puddle begins to reabsorb right back into my skin. I swallow the blood in my mouth and then gasp painfully as my lungs begin to re-stitch themselves back into working organs.

Once he sees that I'm healing and I'll be ok he starts asking the X-men questions.

.

Addressing mostly Beast, the oldest out of the group, he asks, "So what happened back at the mansion? When I got there the other kids were just coming out of hiding in the underground tunnels and the mansion was torn apart."

Beast sighs and says, "We were all sitting down to dinner when the power suddenly went out in the mansion, not even the back-up generators were operating. Xavier puts everyone on alert telling the younger mutants to hurry to the escape tunnels while the older students, Xavier, Storm, and I were to hold off our unseen attackers. They came in with night vision goggles and started taking us out one by one with specialized tranquilizers. I have no idea what happened once we are were unconscious but I know we woke up here in these cells and the professor was nowhere to be seen."

Wolverine growls, "So you have no idea where Chuck is?"

I cringe and groan in pain as I force myself to sit up and look at him, "What does your professor look like?"

He looks shocked that all my wounds are visibly healed. The muscles and organs are still not fully knitted together, but after the constant pain I've been getting almost every day it's no surprise my healing factor is going slower than usual.

He runs his hand through his unique black hair and says, "He's an older guy, bald, and crippled; he can't walk. He's also a very powerful telepath."

I close my eyes trying to recall anything from my walk to the interrogation room the other day.

"Telepath huh? Well if he was really strong then they might have taken him to the labs. They like testing new telepaths to try and see if they can help locating new mutants to use. If he is here that's where he'll be."

Cyclops stands up and asks, "Do you think he'll be alright? They aren't going to hurt him do you think?"

"If he doesn't fight them, then maybe... It's possible they're using drugs to keep him in a state where they can experiment on him and convince him to comply with their orders. Worst case scenario is that they find him useless and they either throw him in here or they dispose of him."

Wolverine growls and clenching his fist, "Fuck!"

Cyclops punches the wall and bows his head and seems to be fighting off tears, Jean, of course, begins sobbing and Storm comforts her.

I sigh and watch as Wolverine tries to hide the emotions playing across his gruff face; anger, sadness, fear, determination…

He stands up and sits on the cot Nightcrawler had. He's only around 5'3" but he seems to be much more… imposing. He's muscular and lean and although it has been years since I've seen him, he doesn't look likes he's aged that much. His hair and mutton chops are black and his hair is still in that wild look that seems to give him points on either side of his head.

He notices me staring and says, "So who are you kid?"

I frown; of course he wouldn't remember me…

"My name is Kim and it's nice to see you again."

He frowns, "Again? Do I know you?"

I nod, rubbing my knuckles out of habit, "I haven't seen you since I was seven and helped you escape after your… your procedure."

He rubs the back of his hands and then it dawns on him, "When you were seven? How long have you been here?"

"Oh, only about 14 years give or take a year. I don't remember exactly when I came. They fucked around too much with this."

I point to my head and he nods, "I know how that goes. But damn kid, 14 years?"

"Yep, I don't remember a whole lot of my time here but I do remember a bit from when you were here. You used to force the man in charge to take it easy on me and if he wanted to punish me you somehow convinced him to let you take it instead. When you were made to undergo the adamantium bonding I stole the keys and codes and somehow got out of my cell and as you broke out of the tank I opened doors for you leading you outside. You weren't yourself and so when you ran out you… you forgot me. I got caught easily and once they got the tank and equipment set back up I was given these."

I pop my claws and he stares, with what almost seemed like a look of horror.

The look quickly passes and he regains his gruff look, "I'm sorry kid, but I will make these bastards pay for what they did to us."

I shrug, lots of people make that threat and none have survived to brag about it. Even I've killed handfuls of guards, but I've never gotten close to Wraith…

"Good luck."

Apparently the others were listening to what I was telling Wolverine and Jean pipes up, "Do you have a plan for getting us out of here Logan?"

He looks up at the camera and then shakes his head, "Sorry Jeanie, I don't."

I smirk at the gleam in his eye as he says that. He does but can't say because the walls have ears. I could hear the disappointed sighs from the other mutants down the hall who were eavesdropping as well.

It'll probably fail anyways…

I grab one of the flattened bullets and slip it into my camo-colored pants, not really sure on the reason.

I use the wall and stand, hissing at the pain from the still healing wounds, he almost came over to help but I gave him a quick glare and he sat still. At least someone listens to me.

I move over to my cot and lay down with a sigh.

"Well if someone were to somehow think of a way to get us all out of here, I claim the right to take out that bastard Wraith."

I say that last bit loud enough so anyone listening from the security rooms would definitely hear me. Wolverine chuckles quietly and as if in answer to my statement the lights go out.

For the first time in months I actually was able to fall asleep easily, without nightmares, and I think I owe that to Wolverine…

.

"Hi Runt."

My eyes snap open and I look at the cage bars to see Sabertooth standing there in the dark.

Wolverine is sitting up staring at the bars; I can smell his anger and tension.

Since I can remember they've hated each other. When Wolverine left Sabertooth was gone for years, just let loose from the facility, tracking him down I assume.

When Sabertooth came back he redirected his rage on me, but every once in a while he would give me a sad or worried glance, confusing me.

Sabertooth is talking quietly as to not wake the others up, "Well isn't this a touching reunion? We've missed you metal head."

He grins, flashing his fangs and I hear a low growl coming from Wolverine.

My tail flicks back and forth watching this power play. I've seen them fight and they're pretty much evenly matched even though Creed is taller and bigger.

"What do you want Furball?"

He smiles at me and says, "I was just saying hi and I wanted to see how you two were getting along."

He looks over to Wolverine and runs his extended claws down a bar, "Wraith said we would get to play once he's done with you. You've never met the man, seeing as he showed up after you left, but he has a great way with words, right Kim?"

I grind my sharp teeth and glare at him.

"You know Wraith doesn't like you bothering me and I know that even you've felt the sting of his… words."

He growls, "I don't have to listen to that fuck head."

"Oh yeah? That's why you follow him around like his pet dog?"

Sabertooth growls louder and punches the bars, almost denting them.

Wolverine stands up quickly and holds his blades centimeters from Sabertooth's face.

Sabertooth doesn't flinch and grins coldly at Wolverine, "Ever the protective one, eh Runt?"

He steps away and says, "I'm looking forward to when Wraith lets me play with you."

.

He walks away and Wolverine sheathes his claws. He has excellent control, I can smell his anger and hatred towards Sabertooth, but he doesn't show any of it. He sits down, rubbing the back of his hand.

"Ignore him, he's an asshole and likes to talk shit, but Wraith has him on a short leash."

He looks up at me, "Why did you did you help me escape back then?"

I shrug, "I don't quite remember what my thoughts were, but I remember feeling like I needed you to get out to... to help someone else, I think."

I put a hand to my head, "There's so many implanted memories hiding and erasing those that were there, I don't know what's real anymore."

I laugh coldly, "You know there was this one time they had this telepath make me think I had escaped because they wanted to see how exactly I would react without their guiding hands. I eventually wound up coming back here and killing everyone. They ended that experiment quickly."

He shakes his head, "You got more memories than I do kid. Just be glad you didn't just wake up one day, knowing only your name, in the middle of know where."

"I think that between the bonding process making you go berserk and their failsafe you must have had your entire mind wiped."

He frowns, "What failsafe?"

"Dr. Cornelius told me that they have implanted false memories that will trigger if the fail safe goes into effect. They block all memories of this place and anything before. The false memories could be of you growing up in a lavish mansion your entire life or living on the streets trying to hide your face from humans. It's up to the Doctor's and the head honcho's whims."

He looks up about to ask me a question and I hold up a hand, "Before you ask, no, I have no idea who the main boss is. I have never met him and he keeps his identity so secret I don't even think Wraith knows who he is. I just know he's the one who keeps what gets done here under wraps so a group like S.H.E.I.L.D. doesn't start trying to put their big nose in. He is also the mad genius behind the adamantium process."

He frowns, trying to process that tidbit of info.

"Did you know that there isn't any more adamantium left on the planet? According to the Doctor the small sample they used on us was from a meteorite a spec ops team recovered from some jungle or some shit. If they had just done the bonding process to me like they did with you, there would have been enough to do at least another three mutants. But making whole bones outta the stuff kinda wiped out their supply. Of course I suppose they could always try to take it back. Maybe they still have my old set in a closet somewhere."

I chuckle at my sick joke and Wolverine looks almost ill, "They REPLACED your entire skeleton?"

Nodding I say, "Yup, I have a stronger regenerative ability than you or our sick counterpart, Sabertooth, but I guess it's a bit slower. It seemed like a good idea seeing as I as I was so young; it wouldn't have been a waste if I didn't survive it. They could always try again with another potential mutant. You were just their preliminary weapon idea. I'm the finished product."

I flash him a grin full of sharp adamantium teeth and he clenches his fists.

The smell of rage radiates off him in immense waves, but all he does is shake and stare at the ground.

Man I wish I had his mental control; I would've saved myself so many beatings. ..

I lie down, putting my arms behind my head, "You better get some rest. Eventually someone will be coming in a few hours to roust us up outta out bed for something or other. Sweet dreams, bub."

He growls in acknowledgment but doesn't move.

I sigh and just stare at the ceiling, waiting, unable to sleep cause of the headache that's formed cause all the dredged up memories.


	6. It's over

Warning: There is a little bit of detailed gore in this chapter and if you're squeamish, read at your own risk.

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy! ^^

* * *

><p>After a couple of hours the lights flicker on and I start to hear the grumbles and moans of the other mutants as they all start to wake up.<p>

After a bit longer a group of soldiers come in and stop right outside my cell.

I lie there waiting for one of them to say something to Wolverine, but suddenly that device in my neck starts emitting electricity and I fall off the cot, twitching, in shock. (No pun intended …)

The shock is very low, but it scared the shit outta me.

I look up at the soldiers, all of them hiding smiles, "What the fuck!"

The shocking stops and I get up and walk to the front of the cell, popping my claws and pulling back to hit the soldier closest to me.

The shocking hits me again but this time at full blast.

I drop to my knees, bent over in pain.

Deep laughter comes from the end of the hall as the electricity dissipates.

If this keeps up, I'm gunna develop a twitch…

The soldiers split and Wraith walks up and looks at me on the floor, "That is so much fun. This is definitely one of my new favorite toys."

He waves the little remote, "Get up."

I use a bar to pull myself up and I stand there glaring at him.

He smirks, "Do you know what today is?"

I look at the ground, trying to think, what the fuck is he talking about?

He crosses his arms, "Now don't tell me you've forgotten again. And the lab boys try so hard to make sure you remember the cutting board!"

Oh shit! That's what he's talking about?

Wraith sees the look cross my face and laughs, "There you go, see I knew you would remember! Now are you gunna be a good girl and come willingly?"

I back up and point my finger at him, shaking, "Fuck you! There is no way I'm going in that room again!"

Wolverine steps in between the cell bars and me and says to Wraith, "Leave her alone."

Wraith smiles, actually happy, and if I know Wraith, that isn't a good thing.

I back into the corner of the cell and watch as Wraith nods to one of his men.

They open fire and bullets tear into Wolverine, spraying the cell with blood.

A flash of a little girl, crying for her daddy goes through my head and then is gone.

I shake my head and watch in horror as Wolverine just stands there, a look of extreme pain on his face.

Jean is screaming for them to stop and the others are yelling as well.

Wraith signals for the men to stop and Wolverine drops to his knees, bleeding, mutilated, with holes going right through him.

One of the men opens the cell door and goes to move him, but he snarls and pushes the man back out.

The wounds are already healing and he stands up and looks at Wraith, "Obviously you don't know me very well, bub. I don't like it when sick fucks like you mess with kids. Now like I said, leave her the fuck alone."

Wraith just sighs and pulls out his modified Desert Eagle and aims it directly at Wolverine.

He smirks and pulls the trigger, hitting Wolverine right between the eyes.

He collapses and I run over and kneel next to his body, "Oh god, please don't be dead."

The wound bleeds a little and then stops and I can hear him breathing.

I slump in relief and then look up at Wraith, "Even if I go with you, you won't guarantee you won't hurt any of them, will you?"

He thinks on it for a second and then says, "If you promise to go willingly to see the good doctor and let him do his job WITHOUT knocking you out first, then I promise I won't hurt any of your little mutie pals until you get back. Deal?"

He holds out his hand and I get up and walk over to the door and then out to him. I look at his hand and then up at him and then I grin and stab that mother fucker right through the hand with all four claws.

He screams in pain and aims at me with his pistol, "You little bitch!"

And then all at once my head feels like it is going to split open and I scream, holding either side of it, and then collapse.

.

Wraith is just standing there looking at Kim's unconscious body, "What the fuck just happened?"

The soldiers around him looked just as confused as he is.

One of the men asks, "Should we still take her to Cornelius?"

Instantly Wraith becomes serious saying, "Yeah take her to the lab, we'll have to explain to the Doc whatever the fuck that was."

Another of the men closes the cell door, "Are we just leaving him here?"

Wraith nods, "He's fucking useless anyways."

They walk away, dragging Kim's unconscious body between them.

I look at Beast and ask, "Vhat just happened?"

Beast shakes his, "I honesty have no idea Kurt."

Jean from the cell next door says, "Did you see her? I've never seen her so scared. What could possibly make someone like her THAT terrified?"

Iceman is pale and looks like he might be sick, "He mentioned a cutting board…"

"But she looked in immense pain ven he pointed his gun at her and it vould seem zat even he did not know vhat had happened to the fraulein."

Wolverine sits up, rubbing his forehead, "Did he get the kid?"

Beast nods, "They took her away not more than a few minutes ago."

Wolverine sniffs, "Did she cut him?"

Beast looks at the droplets of blood in the hall and says, "She stabbed him in the hand and then as he pointed his gun at her, she screamed and passed out from what seemed like a head pain."

"If zis pain and torture is ze same as vhat he plans for us, God please grant us her strength."

Iceman begins to cry again, "I don't want to be here anymore guys. All the screaming and the constant threatening, I can't take it. Maybe I should just try to escape and risk the stupid bomb."

Cyclops walks to the front of the cell and looks at the poor young man, "We'll get out of here Bobby. Before you know it you'll be back to doing that homework you love so much and I will personally give you lessons on how to fly the Blackbird."

Colossus comforts his friend and Iceman's crying quiets.

"I cannot vait to be able to feel grass again. It is such a simple pleasure ve easily take for granted."

Beast smiles at me and says, "If you like, my blue companion, when we get out of here, you can join us at our home. It is a safe place for mutants to come and learn how to control their powers and live among humans as equals. You wouldn't have to hide or be ashamed of who you are."

"Oh I am not ashamed Herr Beast. God haz made me zis vay for a purpose. I do hide to prevent ozers from being afraid, but I do not hide because I am ashamed of my looks."

Beast smiles, "If only we all had your point of view, my friend."

We sit and watch Wolverine finish healing and try to wipe off the blood from his face and arms, giving up when he saw the coat of red-brown painting the back of the cell.

And then we hear the door open at the end of the hall and we wait only to find that is a soldier passing out trays of poor food to all the mutants.

The X-men and I pass the time talking about we what have done for fun and such other light stories as to keep spirits up.

After what I believe is a day, they still do not bring back Kim.

I am worried for the poor girl, no one deserves such treatment.

She always try to act all tough and uncaring, but I see little cracks here and there in her shield that show a smile, or sadness, or even terror.

And even though she endures this torment she stays strong and deep down I believe she is still good.

At this thought I turn to Beast who is writing poetry on the wall with his spoon, "You offered a place for me in zis institute of yours, but if we get out would you offer Kim ze same?"

He stops what he's doing and looks at me, surprised, "Of course, any mutant is welcome, as long as they abide by our rules."

Cyclops huffs and says, "Do you really think she'll do that? She's a killer Beast, she belongs here."

I jump up and say, "How can you say such sings? Do you not see her fear and pain? How can you say she BELONGS here? She sacrificed herself for Jean and Storm's well being and even ze first time she met us she tried to free us. Vhat about zat bomb? She risked her life to stop zat too. And if you truly believe zat she is evil, zen I do not know if I vant to be a part of your team."

He just looks at the floor with clenched teeth and I sit down, my tail lashing in anger at his words.

Beast quotes a famous line saying, "The enemy of mine enemy is my friend."

I look at my hands and start to pray, for us, for safety, and especially for Kim.

.

After two days (judging by the lights and the food trays), Wraith finally returns with Kim walking calmly behind him.

He opens the cell door, pushes her towards the door, she walks in and he shuts it behind her.

I walk to the front of the cell and Wraith looks at me as he walks away, smiling.

"Kim, Kim are you all right fraulein?"

She just stands there, no expression.

Wolverine gets up and stands in front of her waving his hand in front of her eyes, "The lights are on, but nobody's home."

"Mien God, what have they done to her?"

Wolverine walks her over to her cot and somehow gets her to sit, he sits next to her, trying to evoke any emotion from her, "Come on kiddo say something."

Sabertooth answers him as he walks up to the cell, "She ain't gunna do shit, Runt. The lab boys definitely fucked with her head this time."

"Vhat did zey do?"

Sabertooth doesn't look at me but says, "She had to have her memories fucked with, they were too close to the surface and so they had to repress them again before doing their tests on her. She woke up in the middle of them cutting into her heart and she didn't even flinch. They poked around too much in that green melon of hers and flipped the wrong switch."

He crosses his arms and says, "On a lighter note, the runt and I are going on a picnic."

.

Wolverine has what looks like metal cuffs put on his wrists that cover his hands up so he can't use his claws and the he gets dragged out by three soldiers who follow Sabertooth down the hall and out the door.

The mutants wait and watch Kim who just continues to sit there, staring into space.

After a few hours of no change they feel the entire building shake and hear a crash outside.

The door opens and a few soldiers come in and check on the prisoners saying, "Remain calm."

One of them shouts and points his gun at the door, "Don't move!"

A flash of green goes by them and the soldiers looking are looking at their empty hands, shocked and confused.

One of them pulls out a small remote like device and holds a shaking hand up to his attackers saying, "I- I'll do it! Don't think for one second that I won't blow the brains outta each one of these muties!"

All the X-Men are standing at the fronts of their cells gripping the bars tightly as they strain to see who the obviously mutant assailants are.

The soldiers slowly begin to back up as the mutants come into view. Iceman was the first to express his surprise, "Quicksilver! Scarlet Witch! You have no idea how glad we are to see you two! I totally forgive you guys for being jerks!"

Quicksilver, a lean, white haired guy with a green suit on smiled at the poor kid and said, "We may not see eye to eye, but we would never turn our backs on our brothers and sisters at a time like this."

Beast brings the focus back on the scared and angry soldiers, especially the one with the remote by saying, "If we could save the pleasantries for a later time, we still have this current issue to that is a little more in need of your attention."

The woman Iceman called Scarlet Witch, a dark haired woman dressed in all red, holds out both of her gloved hands and suddenly they begin to fill with little metal devices.

The X-men touch their necks as they feel a quick sharp pain come and then go.

The soldiers' eyes go wide and they drop the remote and run to the opposite end of the hall where Quicksilver catches them and throws them into empty cells, locking them in.

He holds up a card key and then runs down the hall, opening the doors within a matter of seconds. They all rush out, glad to be free.

The other mutants that were not among the X-men ran out the door taking their chances with trying to escape on their own.

Nightcrawler teleports across the hall into the other cell, where Kim still sat staring into space, he gets her to stand up and walk out of the open, blood covered cell.

Scarlet Witch looks at the two colorful mutants and asks Cyclops, "Friends of yours?"

He nods, "We met them here, and they're coming with us."

She watches Kim for a second and then says, "Let's hurry and get you guys outta here, I can only assume what you've been through."

Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch lead them out of the barracks and into the main courtyard which now looks like a battlefield lit up by the lights of the facility because night had fallen.

Mutants of all varieties were fighting and rounding up the soldiers across the facility, some escaped but most were thrown into a small warehouse to be guarded by a few larger mutants.

The X-men look around at the chaos and Jean asks, "How did you know to find us?"

"I asked them for a favor."

They all turn to see Wolverine, cuts healing in random places on his body, but no worse off than when they last saw him.

Jean smiles, "So you did have a plan!"

He nods, "And the other people I asked to step in should be here at any time."

Cyclops turns to Beast and says, "We need to find the Professor."

Beast looks at Kim, "She said he would most likely be located in the labs, but we have no idea where that would be."

Cyclops clenches a fist and looks over at the warehouse full of captive men, "Let's go ask."

They walk away and slowly the fighting dies down as the last of the soldiers and scientist are caught.

Nightcrawler stands near the others, holding Kim's shoulders as so to direct her when to walk when needed.

He looks across the court yard and a movement catches his eye and he points, "Is zat ze Colonel?"

Suddenly Kim's head snaps to that direction, her claws emerge and before Nightcrawler could stop her she runs off towards the man trying to sneak away.

.

Red, pain, blood…

It's all I see and all I want.

I run across the space quickly charging at the pathetic coward as he tries to hide in the shadows.

Roaring, I jump on him, pinning him to the ground.

He yells and tries to struggle, but I stab him right through his right shoulder, pinning him down.

He shouts and then stills, a smile creeping over his face.

He uses his good arm to hold up the remote he pulled from his pocket and presses the button.

I feel the pain and hiss, but I don't move and he goes wide-eyes as he begins to feel the electricity coming into him through my blades in his shoulder.

I lean in close and whisper, "How does it feel?"

He yells in pain and then presses the button again and throws the remote.

His face a mixture of hatred and pain, he looks up at me and says, "Go on, do it. Be the good little weapon that you are and do it."

I can smell the stink of fear roll off him in waves even though he doesn't show it.

I grin and say, "You should suffer, as I have. I should make you feel every pain you have ever caused to me or anyone else."

I pause and look at my free set of claws, raising them to his face; I revel in the new wave of fear rolling off of him.

"But as much as I would like to, the thought of letting you live any longer makes me sick."

I pull my arm back, aiming the claws at his throat.

Something touches my arm and I see Nightcrawler standing there, holding it with both of his hands.

I growl at the blue furred creature and say, "Get away from me!"

A determined look crosses his face and he says, "If you kill him now fraulein, he wins. Don't let him make you into a monster."

I snarl at him and throw him backwards, leaving four shallow cuts across his chest, "I already am a monster!"

I turn quickly and stab Wraith through his neck, severing his spine.

His blood sprays into my face and I stab him again and again, feeling the life drain from him, until I am just cutting into his mutilated corpse.

Someone drags me off of him and this time I let them.

I sit there for a moment just staring at the mass of flesh in front of me, breathing deeply.

I can now feel the tears running down my face washing away streaks of sticky blood.

I turn to see Wolverine staring down at me and I open my mouth to say something and stop. I can't and won't explain my actions; he didn't know him, like I did…

He offers me a hand, a look of understanding on his face.

I hesitate and then take it, letting him help me to my feet.

I look over and see the X-men standing near other mutants, most of them with looks of horror or disgust on their faces.

I retract my claws and jump as a hand is placed on my shoulder and I look to see Nightcrawler, looking sad and pained, but not disgusted like the others.

.

Wolverine smiles as he hears the sound of a helicopter descending and then landing in the middle of the facility.

He nods at me and then walks away, towards the chopper.

I walk over slowly watching as the black, military grade chopper opens and a handful of men in black military outfits and guns come out and line up in formation.

I stop and growl as I see the emblem on their uniforms, they're S.H.I.E.L.D.

Another man steps out, he's African American and one eye is covered by a black eye patch and I snarl as I see him.

That is the head of S.H.E.I.L.D, Colonel Nick Fury. He tried to acquire me for his own purposes once, but the "Boss" had high enough connections that even Fury couldn't have me.

Wolverine walks up and greets him and Nick says, "It would seem that your friends have everything under control Logan."

Wolverine looks out at the group of mutants guarding the warehouse and the group standing off to the side, waiting for him.

He shrugs and says, "At least you can take the men in the warehouse in and lock them up. I didn't think Magneto would send half the Brotherhood out when I asked him for his help."

Nick scans the courtyard and his eyes rest on me, "Well we can do that, and I'll get to get something I want from here as well."

Wolverine follows his gaze and he holds up a hand, "Hold up a second, Fury. You told me you'd let all the mutants involved Project X go. ALL OF THEM."

Nick frowns, turning to the shorter, gruff man, "You don't expect me to just let her walk outta here? Do you have any idea how valuable she is? And how dangerous?"

Wolverine looks at me and says, "It would seem like she doesn't want to go with you. And if she doesn't want to go, then I'm gunna make sure she doesn't."

Fury glares at Wolverine for a moment and then raises his hands in surrender, "Fine, take her."

He signals for his men to spread out and says, "Go round up the men locked in the warehouse and then we need to check the facility, for anything that can be salvaged."

The men head over to the warehouse and the mutants move away, joining the X-men and the others that are standing there.

I gnash my teeth, the adamantium make a grating metal sound. "I don't think so Fury! You are not going to get any of the info on me or the others! You can just go fuck yourself if you think you're going to use anything in there to duplicate this shit!"

I run into the lab building, running past Beast and Cyclops carrying somebody between them.

.

Fury runs a hand through his graying hair in frustration as he watches Kim tear into the labs, most likely to destroy any equipment or files she could find.

Beast picks up the old bald man that he and Cyclops were carrying out from the labs in his arms as Cyclops walks over to Jean and hugs her, "We found him."

Tears run down their faces, Cyclops turns to Quicksilver and his group of mutants, "Can we go home now Pietro?"

The speedy mutant nods and signals for some of the mutants to go and retrieve their jet.

An explosion shakes he ground and they all turn to see the entire lab building and main building go up in flames.

Nightcrawler runs over to the others, holding a hand over the bleeding cuts in his chest and says, "Kim vent in there! Should ve not try to help her?"

Cyclops shakes his head and watches Nick Fury and his men put the captives in cuffs and load them into their helicopter, "If she's not back by the time we leave we're leaving her behind."

Nightcrawler watches sadly as the burning buildings crumble a little, "Zen I hope she returns quickly…"

After a couple minutes a large black jet comes into view, hovering over the large courtyard before landing.

Quicksilver leads the others into the jet, as well as some of the captive mutants that they convinced to join their cause instead of fleeing into the snowy forests of the Canadian mountains that surrounded the facility.

Beast carried the unconscious Professor into the jet as well, leaving only Wolverine and Nightcrawler, both watching the buildings, waiting.

Scarlet Witch stands at the top of the ramp leading into the jet and says, "We need to leave guys. We need to get your Professor back to your med lab and then we need to get these poor mutants back to our father."

Wolverine grunts and turns to join her when Nightcrawler grabs his arm, "Vait! Look!"

He turns and looks to where the blue man was pointing to see someone emerging from the flames of the lab building.

Kim looks burnt and tired; she slowly walks over to them, her tail dragging in the dirt behind her.

She's clutching something to her chest tightly and as she comes closer they see that they're thick files, slightly brown on the edges but otherwise kept safe from the flames by her hands and arms.

When she reaches Wolverine she stops and looks up from the ground at him and says, "It's over…"

Nightcrawler catches her as her knees give way and she passes out, physically and emotionally drained.


	7. A New Look

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>Darkness…. Everywhere around me, pressing in, sucking the air from my lungs. <em>

_I scream silently as numbness settles in and I get dragged down deeper into the darkness. _

_Then from all around, laughing… _

_Deep maniacal, insane laughter._

_A cracking noise and then the darkness shatters, falling around me like glass from a broken window. _

_I stand to see red everywhere; splattered on the walls, dripping from the ceiling, pooling on the floor. _

_Blood… _

_I look down at my shaking hands to see them covered with the sticky red liquid. _

_Another crack sounds behind me and I turn to see him. _

_He's standing there in a pool of blood and his whip in his hand, laughing. _

_He brings his arms back and I scream, raising my hands as a shield as the whip comes cracking down._

.

I sit up-right, yelling.

Sweat is pouring off me and my arms are out as shielding myself from my imagined assailant.

I calm down and retract my claws and press my hands to my face, forcing the images back down into my subconscious.

As I calm down I begin to sense my surroundings, first hearing the beep of several machines and then a hushed breathing.

I can smell chemicals and the sterile scent of medical supplies and above all that I can smell another in the room with me.

I move a bit and the bed that I'm sitting on squeaks in protest and the blankets on my lap start to get tangled around my legs.

As slowly drop my hands to see what looks to be a darkened lab, the skin on my left hand sends a small shooting pain up my arm and I look to see a needle attached to an IV drip in the back of it.

The panic stars to build; where am I? This isn't the lab I'm used to… Why aren't I strapped to the bed like usual?

I hear a shuffling noise ahead of me in the darkness and I strain to see what produced it.

My eyes adjust slowly and I see the outline of a person sitting in a chair against the wall, next to them is a door.

I slow my breathing if only to quiet the rapidly increasing beeps coming from the machine next to me.

The person shifts again, this time standing up very slowly.

I swallow my panic and begin preparing for a fight.

The person finally speaks, whispering just loud enough so I could hear them, "It's just me kiddo, I'm gunna turn up the lights, kay?"

The familiar voice first sends a wave of terror flooding over me at first and then as I process what I just heard…

"Wolverine?"

He grunts in acknowledgment and slowly the darkness begins to fade and as the room brightens I take in my surroundings.

It's a medical lab, filled with all sorts of equipment and a horseshoe of desks with a few computers, microscopes, textbooks, and notebooks covering it. The walls and floor are made from blue tinted steel and it all seems to be very stark and sterile.

I'm on a small hospital bed hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor.

I look down at myself to see that I'm dressed in a hospital gown and covered with a thin white blanket.

Finally I look over at the wall where Wolverine is standing, a hand on a dial, probably the light control.

He smiles tiredly at me and says, "Heya kid, how're you feelin'?"

I crack my neck and stretch as much as possible on the tiny bed, assessing my body and how it feels.

"Better than I have in a long while…"

He smiles again, looking relieved, "Good to hear. Seeing as you're up I'm gunna call Beast down here to check on you. I was told to call the instant you woke up, but I thought it would be better if I waited 'til you calmed down a bit."

I nod frowning, "How long have I been out?"

The gruff man walks over to a cell phone sitting on the desks, "You've been in a coma for the past two weeks. Beast said-"

"Two weeks? What the hell happened?"

I put a hand to my head, "I remember Wraith coming in and then you getting shot, and then I went with him to see Cornelius and then… Nothing…"

Wolverine looks at me surprised, gripping the cell phone tightly, "You don't remember what happened?"

"No… what's going on, Logan? Where the hell am I? What happened?"

He growls and flips the phone open dialing as he says, "Wait till I can get Beast and the Professor down here and I'll explain everything, kay kid?"

I bite my lip in frustration, but nod. I don't like this one bit; he's acting all defensive all of a sudden.

.

He briefly talks with Beast on the cell, just telling him that I'm awake and that he should bring the Professor down too.

When he hangs up he drops the cell phone back onto the table with a _clang_ and then starts to pace, running his hand through his dark hair.

I watch him, flicking my tail as irritation starts to build and finally I get annoyed at just watching him wear a path in the floor and say sharply, "Would you sit the fuck down? You're making me nervous…"

He stops and looks up at me smiling sheepishly, "Sorry kid."

He walks over and leans against the wall near the door.

I look around again, trying to figure out where the hell I am and I nearly fall off the bed when the door suddenly opens making me jump.

I resituate myself as I watch Beast walk in wearing nothing but a black pair of shorts and a white lab coat and then rolling in behind him is an old bald man in a wheel chair, dressed in a classy but casual set of sleepwear.

They both smile at me warmly as they enter. Beast walks over and grabs a clip board off the desk and begins to write things down as he checks the machines and watches me.

More interested in the old man I watch as he rolls up closer to the bed and says, "Hello Kimberley, my name is Professor Charles Xavier."

I nod warily at him, "Wolverine said you guys would explain things to me once you got here. Like where the hell I am for starters."

I keep an eye on the large blue furred man wondering around the lab in the corner of my eye as the old man nods in agreement, "Of course. You are in the medical facilities at my school."

I raise a suspicious eyebrow, "School?"

He continues to smile, "The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Here we help mutants learn to cope with their powers, educating them, and giving them a place to feel safe and free of fear and hostility."

I snort, looking at him with disbelief, "Are you serious?"

He nods, "I'm sure that even from here you can sense that this place is far different from your previous location, no fear or pain or hatred. Here we promote peace and-"

I hold up a hand to stop him, "I've heard this from Cyclops, you guys fight for equal rights and all that bullshit."

A slight flash of annoyance crosses the old man's face before being quickly covered up by his smile again.

"At the moment all I wanna know is what happened. According to him," I point to Wolverine leaning on the wall, "There's something I'm missing, or have forgotten and I think it's kinda important. I mean how the hell did I even get here? There is no way Wraith and his boys let me go outta the kindness of their hearts."

Beast walks up on my left pointing to my hand, "May I?"

I hold out the hand and he gently removes the needle, the hole in my skin sealing up instantly.

"And why the hell was I out for so long? What happened?"

Beast throws out the needle saying, "That part I think I can answer. It would seem that during our stay at the facility your body was being over stressed to the point that I believe you had just been running on pure adrenaline. The constant healing and strain that the Colonel put on you completely exhausted your body and once you were unconscious your body shut itself down, putting you into a regenerative comatose state. It's quite fascinating really and I am truly surprised that you came to so soon. After all that happened I expected you to be out for at least another week."

He picks up his clipboard and begins scribbling again.

My mind starts to slip back, recounting the last few days that I could remember, but I quickly pull myself back to the present and I look at the silent man in the corner, "Ok, so I ask again, WHAT HAPPENED?"

Logan growls softly and pushes himself off the wall, walking over next to the Professor.

He looks down at the old man and frowns, crossing his arms, and then looks up at me and says, "You're free now, isn't that all you need to know?"

"Damn it Wolverine, there's something you're not telling me that I NEED to know. I can see it on all of your faces! Hell for all I know this could just be another one of the lab boys mind fucks again and I'm actually lying on a table somewhere in one of the labs…"

Wolverine shakes his head, "You blew them up. The labs, the control center, the barracks; they're all gone."

I my jaw drops and I think wildly, trying to remember, "And what about Wraith and Cornelius? How the hell did I get past them?"

Logan sighs and runs his hand through his hair again, "Before I let myself get caught I made plan with a group of mutants know as The Brotherhood as well as with a faction of S.H.E.I.L.D. After a few days they were supposed to follow the tracking beacon that I had ingested and were going to help me free the X-men that were captured. After you got taken away from the cell by Wraith that last time they did something to your head and when you came back you were catatonic."

A flash of anger flies across his face as he recalls the memory and he continues, "Sabertooth took me from the cell and we had a little… chat before I returned to the facility finding it a mess. The Brotherhood had showed up and let you guys out. When I first saw you the elf was leading you around 'cause you were still- not there I guess. When the elf pointed out Wraith trying to run away you went ballistic. You charged at him, stabbing him and when Nightcrawler tried to stop you, you cut him too."

He sighs, "You don't hafta worry 'bout Wraith no more. You made sure he wasn't getting back up, ever again."

I close my eyes cringing in pain as my head feels like its splitting open and the memories of that night flood back.

The blood lust, the mutilated body, the mutants, Fury, the labs being destroyed, and the files…

I shake my head as the pain subsides and suddenly I start laughing, tears rolling down my face.

The three all look at each other worried and confused.

"He's dead."

I laugh more, "He's dead. He's really fuckin' dead!"

I wrap my arms around myself as the laughter turns into sobs.

Wolverine rushes over and holds my shoulders, comforting me in what he thinks is sadness.

I'm crying because of the happiness and sudden relief, I felt as nothing in the world could hurt me now that I knew for sure that that bastard wasn't breathing.

.

I force myself to calm down and I wipe away the tears, pondering for a moment the fact that I can't even remember a time when I cried like that.

I regain my composure, trying to hold back a grin, and I gently push Logan away from me.

"Now what happened to those files I saved? There were three of them; mine, Wolverine's and Sabertooth's."

The old man frowns, looking up at Wolverine who shakes his head.

He looks at me and says, "I believe that it would be best to save those for later when you are more settled in and- prepared."

I frown at him suspiciously, but just then my stomach growls and I try to remember the last time I ate, it was before that mission with the X-men.

Beast smiles and says, "I think it would be best if you were to shower and then get something to eat before we continue anything else."

I sniff, smelling a slight body odor coming from myself and agree, "Are there any clothes that I could borrow? I don't even wanna see my uniform, burn the piece of shit for all I care."

Beast nods, a small sad smile on his face, "Of course, if you would just give me your approximate sizes I'll fetch you some of our stock clothes."

"Stock? You have a lot of people who come in naked, needing clothes?"

Beast chuckles and says, "No but it is always best to be prepared, and this instance attests to that."

I shrug and tell him what sizes I think I wear and he leaves the med lab to go get them.

I look at the old man and Logan, "So what happened to the German? He's ok right? I don't think I hurt him too badly…"

The old man smiles again and says, "Kurt is just fine, he may have some scars, but other than that he is adjusting quiet well to life here."

Wolverine grunts, "He's been down here every day, checking up on you too. Seems he's concerned we'd throw you out once you woke up."

I look at my knuckles for a moment and ask, "And will you? I mean it's not like I'm gunna stay anyways, but…"

Xavier shakes his head, "You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. I would actually be very happy if you were to consider staying here permanently to join the X-men. You would be safe here and you would never have to worry about fleeing from men like Colonel Wraith ever again."

I frown, staring at this weak looking man, trying to figure out why even someone like Wolverine respects him and follows him.

The tension is broken by Beast coming back into the med lab holding a set of clothing, following him into the room was the red head, Jean.

She looks at me, plastering a fake smile onto her face, while fear rolls off of her in small waves.

Beast brings me the clothes and says, "Miss Grey assisted me with choosing proper attire for you. There is a bathroom and shower through that door behind the desk, take your time and if you need any assistance I'm sure Miss Grey would be willing to help."

I raise an eyebrow, observing her fake smile and the smell of fear with underlying tones of anger and sadness, "I'm sure I can mange on my own, thanks."

Xavier looks over at Jean and says, "I think I shall return upstairs with Jean, we'll have someone start breakfast a bit early for you. Is there anything in particular you would like?"

I hesitate for a moment, no has ever asked me what I wanted before.

I look at him and ask, "Bacon?"

I cringe slightly waiting for a no, but all I get is another smile and he says, "Bacon it is then."

.

Jean rolls Xavier out of the room and I throw the blankets off, thinking how weird the stark white sheet looked against the dark green of my skin.

Beast walks over to my left side and says, "Be careful, you haven't been on your feet in a while, you may be weak."

Wolverine walks over to the chair and sits, putting his head back against the wall with his arms crossed, "Let me know when you're all set."

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and let them dangle for a moment before carefully slipping off, making sure my gown stayed closed in the process.

My feet touch the cold metal and I stand there smiling at Beast, having proved him wrong and then my legs buckle and Beast holds me up, smiling back with a face that said, 'I told you so.'

I grip the edge of the bed and pull myself upright again. Standing there for a moment I let the blood rush down through my legs, feeling the muscles start to respond.

I hold onto Beast's furry arm and hesitantly take a step forward.

I almost fall again, but determined to get my legs back in working order I take another step and another until I feel confident enough to let go of Beast.

I walk back over to the pile of clothes on the bed and pick them up.

Beast ushers me into the bathroom and says, "We'll be right out here if you require anything else."

I nod and close the bathroom door; perfectly confident in my ability to walk I go over to the huge mirror on the wall and look at myself.

I seem thinner than usual and you can tell I haven't trained in a while because my arms don't seem as toned.

I remove the gown and scan my green body, looking for any new imperfection that I don't remember.

A light green cross shaped scar going down my chest right above my heart is the only thing I don't recognize. Must've been what was done to me after I passed out that last time.

I trace the scar and recall a question Dr. Cornelius was asking himself while examining me one day.

"If her healing factor is so strong, why does it not also heal the scars caused by sever wounds?"

It's always been something I've wondered too and the only thing I can think of is that I'm just that unlucky.

I shrug to myself in the mirror, if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all I guess.

I shift my appearance ever so slightly, finally letting go of the last disguise I always have in place and watch as the thin scars appear all over my body.

Light green lines outlining my ribs, legs, arms and face. These were from when they replaced my bones; they cut one line from my forehead all the way down to my pelvis.

I snarl silently at the lines and shift again to hide them.

I place my clothes down on the counter next to the sinks and turn to look at the bathroom stalls and the large shower stall next to them. It already contained shampoo, conditioner and soap.

I grin; I haven't seen any hair care products in years, only a bar of soap.

I turn on the shower, as hot as I could get it, and as its warming up I unbraid my hair. It's gotten longer, nearly reaching the bottom of my butt now.

I step back in front of the mirror and nod to myself as I make up my mind.

I pop two of the claws on my right hand and level them up with the length I want it and then I slice it off, tossing the long hair into the trash by the sink.

After a bit of trimming I smile at the mirror satisfied with the new look.

I walk into the scalding water and almost purr with delight. It's been a VERY long time since I've showered with hot water.

I continue to clean myself up and then reluctantly I turn off the water and dry off with a towel from a rack on the wall.

The clothes provided were a bit too large but the undergarments, which Jean must've selected for me, fit just fine and I didn't mind if the shirt was slightly loose.

The pants were a faded jean and the shirt was a black t-shirt with a large red X with a silver circle around it. I roll my eyes at the symbol and fixed my hair, smiling again at the look.

It was short, real short, with the bangs coming down to a point just above my left eye.

I believe the cut was called a pixie cut with a little emo flair to it. I liked it.

The last thing I had to fix before I walked out was my pants, I cut a small hole in the back so my tail could come out comfortably and waved it around to make sure it was ok and then I stepped back out into the med lab.


	8. Delicious Bacon

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Beast was sitting at his computer, typing away, but stopped and stared as he saw me, his eyes going straight to the hair.<p>

I raise my hands and shrug and he smiles and then stands. He points to the bed and says, "I borrowed a pair of shoes from one of the other female residents. I hope they are to your liking."

I look at the shoes and grin, combat boots, I don't even know her but I like this girl.

I walk over and put on the socks that were next to them and then slip on the boots, "Wow they actually fit."

Beast grins, "Excellent. Now I'm sure the Professor has found someone already to make us some breakfast so if you would like to accompany me upstairs I'll show you to the dining hall and kitchen. Later, if you'd like, we might be able to find a student who isn't in class to give you a tour of the mansion."

I raise my eyebrows at that, "Mansion? I thought this was a school?"

Beast tilts his head side to side, "Eh, yes and no. The school is within the mansion, but it is not like an institutional school run by the government."

I nod in understanding and walk over and kick the snoring man in the chair lightly in the leg. He growls and says; "It's about ti-"

He stops when he sees my hair, raising an eyebrow.

Again I shrug and say, "I felt like I needed a change."

He grunts and says, "Come on, I'm hungry."

He leads me out of the med lab and into a hallway made from the same blue-colored steel. He nods towards a door close by on the other side of the hall and walks over to it. It slides open to reveal a small circular empty room.

He and Beast step in and then I follow. The door slides shut and for a brief second I panic, but then I just remember seeing Wraith's corpse and smile. The room moves slightly and I realize that this is an elevator and it's going up.

After a few moments it stops and the door opens again. I see someone run by and I jump, instantly shifting into to my favorite form, keeping the hair style and the clothes the same though, just too lazy to change it all.

I step out and look at my new surroundings; everything has an old polished wood look to it and seems warm compared to the cool steel below. I can hear and smell all sorts of different people, a few hints of familiar scents. Most seem to be above us on another floor sleeping and as I take it all in I realize Xavier was right. There's no hint at all of the terror or pain that you would get back at the facility.

I relax just a bit more and turn to Logan, "Nice place ya'll got here."

He smiles a little, fondness in his eyes as he looks around the place, "Yeah, it's pretty nice."

He starts walking again, leading us towards a smell that made start to salivate. We walk into a large room with several long tables surrounded by chairs in it and then a pair of swinging doors led us into a large kitchen.

.

I stopped as the full aroma hit me in the face like a sledge hammer; I actually had to wipe the drool off my chin.

Wolverine chuckles and says, "Hungry?"

He walks over to an island counter in the center of the kitchen where there were plates heaped with scrambled eggs, pancakes, and BACON…

He grabs two plates and hands one to me and I look around to see the Professor sitting at another smaller table with Jean and another man I didn't recognize. He was tall with medium length brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and burning red eyes and he smiled charmingly at me as I looked him over.

Wolverine and Beast fill their plates and I do the same, not caring if I looked like a pig with the amount of bacon I piled there.

I sat at the end of the table, farthest away from everyone with my back to a wall.

Xavier and Jean watch me over their empty plates and the new guy grins while flipping a coin through his fingers with ease. Logan sat close, but not too close as to invade my personal space. Beast sat on the other end where there was more room for his large frame.

I tense up as I sense everyone but Logan (who was already munching on his food) staring at me.

I look up at them all, "What?"

Wolverine grunts, swallows, and says, "Your hair, kid."

"Oh…"

I shrug for the third time, "I haven't cut it in years and I just thought one more little change wouldn't hurt."

The new guy smiles and winks at me, "I like it mon cher."

His accent is definitely from New Orleans.

I smile and say, "Merci, moi aussi."

His eyes widen, "Ah you speak French?"

"I can speak anything; I have yet to find a language I didn't understand."

I pick up a piece of bacon and bite into it. I closed my eyes and savored it. This has got to be the best thing I have ever tasted. Without realizing it I purr in pleasure, as I mow down the rest of it.

The Cajun laughs and says, "You like Gambit's cooking, no?"

I stop purring and look at him, swallowing the rest of my food, "You made this?"

Xavier smiles, "Lucky for you Gambit has poor sleeping habits and was up this early, so I requested that he help us make breakfast."

I look up at the large picture windows and see that the darkness is slowly starting to brighten as the sun comes up.

"Well, thank you, Gambit is it?"

He nods, "Oui."

I continue eating, a bit slower and watch as the sun lightens up the window. It feels weird though, sitting with these people, eating breakfast. It's almost like I feel normal, human.

I nearly fall backwards in my seat as a voice in my head says, "_You ARE human, Kim._"

Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy, "Did- I- Nevermind…"

Xavier says, "You're not crazy, what you just heard was my voice projected into your head telepathically. I did not mean to startle you."

"Normally you guys can't get in my head unless I'm drugged or I actually let you in."

I look at the deceivingly weak man and he says, "It would seem that any mental shields you had in place are non-existent at the moment. But you must also know that I'm probably quite a bit stronger than most of the other telepaths you've met."

I frown, "Makes sense why you were kept alive then."

Jean stands up, briskly taking care of her and Xavier's plates, before walking out of the room, the stink of fear and anger, drifting behind her.

I look down at my plate and continue eating, feeling like an idiot. I'm not used to having to step around other people's feelings as well as having other people worry about mine. Humans know how to deal with all the emotional crap; I just deal better with needs like hunger, sleep, exercise, and all the other basic stuff.

.

Beast gets up and washes his plate and says, "Well I do believe I am going to take a brief nap before my class starts, Am I covering your class again today Logan?"

Logan grunts and Beast nods and walks out.

His communication skills haven't improved since when I was little.

At that thought I look up at Xavier, "When do I get to see those files? I mean, I don't have to see Wolverine's, that his business, but Creed's and mine, I do have a right to."

Xavier sighs, "If you are so insistent to see them, we can view them today, but would you mind waiting until after my final class this afternoon. That way we won't be disturbed and you can peruse them all you like."

I frown, I don't see why he has to be there, I mean it is my file…

Xavier must've read my mind 'cause he says, "I understand you are very curious about your past, but there are certain things that may happen that could require a telepath, such as if you have another episode like that the others told me about."

I clench my teeth and then nod, "Fine, we'll do it your way. I take it you've already looked through it then?"

Xavier hesitates then nods, "To ensure that I would be prepared for what may happen when you read them yourself."

My anger builds but I suppress it, keeping the image of Wraith's mutilated body in the fore front of my mind.

Xavier grimaces and then says, "I do believe that I will head back to my room and try to sleep for the next couple hours as well. I will leave you in Logan and Remy's care. They will show you to a room that you can have as long as you are staying here and if you would like they can give you a tour as well."

He backs away from the table and then rolls himself out into the dining area, the doors swinging behind him.

I watch the doors swing and then glance over at Gambit and Wolverine, "So…"

Wolverine finishes the last of his eggs and tells me, "Finish up eating and we'll take you up to your room."

I nod and continue to eat.

Gambit tosses his coin in the air and stands, catching it, "Gambit's gunna put de rest of de food out for de others for when dey get down here. Almost breakfast time for everyone else."

He grabs the plates and takes them into the dining area and I scarf down the rest of my food. I stretch out in the chair, enjoying the full feeling from eating like that. Wolverine grabs my plate and his and takes them over to the sink to wash them.

I frown; I could've washed my own plate, "Thanks."

He grunts and puts them in the dish drainer.

Gambit walks back in and says, "Some of de kids are wakin' up Wolverine, better get goin' before we get swamped."

I stand up, looking around the room, "What time is it?"

Gambit points to a clock on the wall next to a huge fridge and says, "6:05 by dat clock."

I rub my knuckles and watch the second hand, before Wolverine puts a hand on my shoulder and pushes me out the door, "You don't wanna be in here when everyone gets down here. The kids always jump on a new person like a pack of wolves, hungry for gossip."

I follow Wolverine and Gambit follows behind, playing with his coin.

"Do you have a lot of kids here?"

Wolverine nods, "The Professor has kids as young as four years old here. A lot of the kids here we've brought in of the street, runaways hiding from problems at home because of their mutations. The older mutants tend to stick around and help teach the younger mutants. It's a pretty good system Chuck has goin' on here."

He leads me into what looks to be an entrance hall with large double doors leading outside and a large staircase going up to the second floor.

"This place must be huge, to house all you guys, class rooms and a med lab."

Gambit chuckles, "It can still get pretty crowded at times, chere."

Wolverine leads up the stairs as Gambit says, "De next two floors are mainly bedrooms, but deres also a library and a few lounges and studies scattered about. De top floor is just storage and a green house. De med lab you woke up in, chere, is in de basement. Dats where we keep a lot of the other stuff like-"

Wolverine growls, "We'll show her that stuff later."

We round a corner and I can hear some quiet alarms going off and people shuffling about.

Wolverine walks down the hall saying, "This is where most of the older students and staff sleep, a bit quieter than the other wing with all of the kids running around everywhere.

As we walk by he points to a few doors saying, "That's the Cajun's room, that there is Beast's room, that belongs to a few girls I'm sure you'll meet later; Shadowcat, Jubilee, and Boom-Boom."

Stopping in front of one of the doors, "This is your room, mine is the next one down and the elf's is right across the hall."

He pulls a key from his jeans pocket and opens the door, flicking on a light on the wall near the door.

.

I step in and look around wide-eyed, "It's huge!"

You could probably fit like 5 of the cells in here and have some room to spare. The walls are painted a light blue color and the carpet is a dark blue to match. There's a big dresser with a mirror attached to it and a standing mirror right next to it. There's what I think is a queen size bed in the corner next to some glass doors leading out onto a small balcony, as well as a desk and a big wardrobe/closet thing.

I notice a door on the right wall of the room and ask, "What's in there?"

Wolverine looks at the door and says, "It's the bathroom, you share it with the girls next door, but that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

I shrug and say, "So this entire room is mine? What's the catch?"

I turn to look at Wolverine who is leaning on the door from, arms crossed watching me.

Gambit, still outside the door smiles, his red eyes looking kind, "Dere's no catch, mon chere. As long as you stayin' in de mansion, you can stay in de room."

Wolverine nods in agreement and I smile, "The only room I've ever had was the one I was given while Wraith was gone. It was only a quarter the size of this one and it only had a small cot, a dresser, and a lamp. It was more like a nice cell really…"

I jump as I hear door slam at the other end of the hall and a couple of male voices, drifting off around the corner.

I walk over to the glass doors, open one and step out onto the balcony. The grounds of the place stretch back into a large forest. Down below me I see a large pool, a basket ball court, a caged tennis court, and cobbled paths leading into the woods, weaving around a few ponds and numerous gardens.

Wolverine walks over and stands next to me, looking out at the grounds as well, "So what do ya think, kid?"

"That I don't deserve this. Someone like me shouldn't get treated nice; Cyclops had the right idea about not trusting me."

The man growls and says, "Everyone deserves a second chance and that's what this place is. You can prove to the others that you aren't just the weapon those bastards tried making you into."

I sigh, "Gotta prove it to myself first…"

I look at Wolverine and he has his jaw set and fists balled up, holding something back.

Behind us Gambit clears his throat, "Um maybe you'd like to take a trip with Gambit later, mon chere?"

I turn to look at him, cocking my head, "A trip?"

He grins and says, "Gambit know of this great place where dey sell nice clothes and Gambit was thinkin' seeing as ya don't have any of your own…"

I smile back, "I may take you up on your offer later, mon ami, but first I really wanna take a walk."

I glance behind me, eyeing the forest and then smile sweetly at the Cajun.

He tosses his coin in the air again, "Anyting you wish mon chere."

"Anything? Then could I go by myself?"

Wolverine growls and says, "I don't think that'd be a good idea kid."

"Why? What trouble could I get into by taking a walk? Your students will be in here and it's not like anyone knows who I am. I could blend in a bit more if you like."

I shift into a shorter, lankier girl with a blond ponytail and glasses in a blue t-shirt and dark jeans. I bounce on my heels like a giddy teenager, "Please Mr. Logan?"

He runs his hand through his hair and sighs, "I guess, but if you're not back in a couple hours I'm gunna come lookin' for ya."

I grin and salute him mockingly and then turn, running at the balcony before jumping off and hitting the ground, landing in a crouch.

I look up to see Wolverine and Gambit gripping the stone balcony railing, looking down at me with surprise.

.

I wave and walk briskly on the path to the woods and once the balcony is outta view I sprint.

Once I reach the trees I slow down and take in my surroundings. I can smell traces of Logan's scent weaving throughout the trees, must be he comes out here a lot.

As I continue to walk the trees slowly become denser and then I come to a tall stone wall. I look up seeing the tree tops touching above the ten foot wall and I frown a little contemplating what to do.

I can either turn around and keep walking through the trees or jump the wall and find out what's on the other side.

Well, if what Xavier said was true, I could leave right now. I could jump that wall and keep going, free to be whoever I felt like.

But then, I would never get to find out about my history and who I really am and if somewhere out there I have parents and a family.

I sit on the soft, dewy grass and leaves and lean against the cool stone wall and try to organize my thoughts after all the chaos that's happened recently.

I've done horrible things to a lot of people, some of it I've even enjoyed...

My memory is worse than a moth eaten quilt, patches and holes everywhere. And if the people here were to ever find out about everything that I've done, they wouldn't let me stay a second longer; kicking me out on the street would actually be the best thing for them.

Could I hide all of my past and try to live among these people?

I'm good at repressing memories and feelings so I could just pretend like the last 14 years of death and torture didn't really happen…

But what if I snap? Those fits of rage that bring on that senseless need to kill or maim would probably cause me to hurt someone here and I don't think I could handle another child's death on my conscience.

Wraith is gone though, he was the one who brought them out in me and I'm gunna keep the image of his corpse in that sick little part of my head that finds comfort from it, until the day I die.

I pick at some blades of grass and watch a bird flit from tree to tree.

I guess it won't hurt too bad if I play pretend and try to fit in here, I mean at least I know Logan and Gambit seemed nice and there's Nightcrawler as well.

Logan mentioned that he came to visit a lot while I was out; maybe the blue guy has it in his head that I'm a friend… That'd be cool; I don't think I have ever had a friend before.

And if for any reason I feel like I'm too dangerous to stay here or if they want me to leave I can always walk out.

It feels so odd to be free…

I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes, taking in the sounds and scents of the trees and animals around me.

.

Oh no I'm going to be late!

I don't want to have to eat another bagel again!

I nod to Piotr, sitting on his bed doodling, as I grab my clothes and rush to the bathroom.

I stop in front of the mirror brushing my teeth, the scars on my chest catching my eye as they do every morning.

The sight of them reminds me that I need to visit the med lab after morning classes.

I port into the shower and quickly rush through drying off and dressing. I port back out into the bedroom, searching for my bag, throwing blankets and random clothes out of my way in my search.

Panicking I turn to Piotr who simply points to the brown back pack next to the door.

I grin sheepishly at him and grab the bag before teleporting down to the dining area. Weaving through the other students, rushing about trying to eat before class I finally make it to the food, my tail drooping as I see the empty plates and bowls, the basket of wheat bagels still full.

I reluctantly grab one and proceed to smear cream cheese all over it. I feel a tug on my tail and I turn to see Kitty, looking wide-eyed and excited.

"Good morning, Kitty."

She grabs my shoulders and pushes me towards the corner of the large room saying, "Kurt! You'll never believe what I just heard! She's awake!"

I almost choke on my bagel, "Awake? When? Where is she?"

Kitty shakes her head, "No one knows. Supposedly she woke up like way early and since then no one's seen her. Rumor is that the Prof kicked her out because of all the horrible stuff she's done. Cyclops has been telling everyone she killed someone, is that true?"

"The Professor kicked her out? But why? I was told that they were going to recruit her like they did with me. Where will she go?"

Kitty shrugs, "I don't know, but this is definitely interesting! I'm going to go find out what Jubilee knows, she's always got the juiciest info."

I watch in disbelief as Kitty bounces away, phasing through people to get to her next informant.

I drop the rest of my bagel in the trash and teleport back to my room.

Piotr is just leaving and I ask him, "Could you tell Miss Munro that I am going to end up being late again? I need to see the professor!"

He nods silently and then leaves. I drop my bag and exit the room, about ready to port to the Professor's office when I hear voices coming from the door across the hall I stop and l put my ear to the door hearing two men talking.

"I don't care Gumbo, I couldn't tell her yet. She needs to read the files for herself first."

"But what if she tinks dat you were hiding it on purpose, like to try and pretend like you aren't-"

"Shut it, it's not like she doesn't have enough crap to worry about anyways. She just woke up to find that she no longer has to worry about being beaten, or cut up, or being stuck in a cell. And what the hell was that about taking her shopping?"

"All de girls like shopping Wolverine. Why? You want to take her instead? I'm sure you know all de latest fashions."

"And you do?"

"I know what all de pretty girls are wearing, mon ami. Makes it dat much more fun to take 'em all off."

A thud against the door makes me pull back and it opens quickly, Gambit runs out saying, "I was not talking about Kim, mon ami!"

Logan stomps out after him growling fiercely.

Gambit quickly retreats to his room at the other end of the hall and then Logan turns his glare on me, "Shouldn't you be in class or something, elf?"

I smile innocently, "I forgot by bag. How is Kim, Herr Logan?"

He glances back at the room and says, "She's good, I think. She's up, but don't go buggin' her right yet. She needs some space right now."

I try to peer into the room to spot my green friend, but Logan slams the door shut, "Better get to class, Elf."

I nod, reluctantly and port back into my room, grab my bag and port back downstairs, outside of the classroom.

I sigh in relief and then step in, prepared for Miss Munro's admonishments.

* * *

><p><strong>Merci, moi aussi. –Thank you, I do too.<strong>

**Oui – Yes**

**Mon chere – My dear**

**Mon ami – My friend**


	9. Duck

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>I open my eyes at the sound of a stick snapping. I stare at the trees where the noise came from. I sit up, moving so my hand is resting on my raised knee, waiting. Another snap sounds right on the other side of a large tree to my left, I tense, ready for an attack.<p>

A woman steps into view and jumps as she sees me, "Oh! I'm sorry, sugar! I didn't think anyone was out here."

She's got an average build, with reddish brown hair with a white streak running down the front of it. She also speaks with a southern accent, from Mississippi or Louisiana probably; it's too muddled to tell.

I glance down at my pale white skin and then look up at her, smiling invitingly, "It's ok, I was just about to get up and head back to the mansion."

She holds her arms with gloved hands, "Really? Well I'll walk with you. I don't know if we met yet, you're one of the new kids who came in last week, right?"

I hesitate, considering telling the truth, but then I smile and nod, "The name's Sarah."

She relaxes a bit and says, "Most people just call me Rogue, but my real name is Marie."

She seems too old to be a student, so maybe she's a teacher. She holds out a gloved hand and I take it, letting her help me up.

I brush off my clothes and push my glasses up on my nose and gesture ahead of me, "Shall we?"

She smiles and we walk back to the mansion. The light becomes stronger as we exit the trees and I squint, taking in the huge building.

She smiles fondly at it and says, "It's really great isn't it? You can be who you are without anyone pickin' or bein' afraid of ya. It's home."

I study her as she speaks of the building like this, "You really like it here?"

She nods happily, "It's the first place I've ever called home."

She rubs her arms and looks down, "So why aren't you in class? As a teacher I'm supposed to tell ya it's not good to skip your classes, but I'm not gunna tell, if you don't."

She smiles kindly at me and I shrug, "I just wanted get outta there for a bit, to clear my head."

She nods her head in understanding, "I know how that is, sugar."

She stops at some sliding glass doors and says, "Well if ya make it to your next class on time, I'll make sure nobody hears 'bout our little walk, kay?"

I nod and she opens the door and says, "See ya round, sugar."

I walk in and she closes it behind me, walking back along the path towards the trees.

I look around to find myself in a small study. Luckily there's no one else here so I slowly walk out of the room and into a hallway.

.

I frown looking from left to right, trying to decide which way to go.

A door opens from farther down the hall to my left and so I hurry off down the right half of the hall.

Reaching the end I spy a set of stairs and hurry up them, sniffing to try and find a scent I'm familiar with. When I reach the top of the stairs I poke my head out into the hallway to find it empty. It looks like another dorm hall, but this one doesn't smell familiar…

I head down the hall hoping to find the large front stairwell from earlier; the grey carpet muffling my normally silent steps as I walk past the dark brown doors.

Behind some of them I hear voices, shouting or squealing and I have an uneasy feeling I'm in the other wing Logan mentioned…

That feeling is confirmed when one of the doors is thrown open and three little girls run out, squealing and giggling as a little boy with green reptile-like scales chases after them sticking out a forked tongue.

I freeze as they run up to me and grab my shirt, hiding behind me. I raise my arms looking at them and then glance at the boy.

He halts, grinning up at me innocently with pointed teeth. "Shouldn't you guys be doing something a little more productive?"

The little girls giggle, gripping my shirt tighter while the little boy just shrugs, "Our class got canceled this morning 'cause Miss Marie didn't feel well."

Miss Marie? Is that the woman I met outside?

"Well I don't think Miss Marie would like hearing that you're terrorizing these girls. So why don't you guys go read a book or play some other game?"

The girls finally let me go and run back into their room.

The little boy looks a little disappointed and so I kneel down in front of him and pat him on the shoulder, "One day you're gunna be quite the charmer kid."

He smiles, "My _name_ is Kyle, but everyone calls me Hiss, like in Jungle Book. The girls said I was slimy so I was trying to show them I wasn't."

"Well my name is Kim and… I believe you."

I shift so my skin looks just like his scales and his face lights up, "Wow! You're just like me!"

I blink, shocked, in sudden déjà vu and then catch myself and smile, "No, not exactly, but just don't feel too bad, kid. Just remember that you're unique, there's no one in the world quite like you."

Confusion goes across his face but he smiles and shrugs saying, "I'm gunna go play my Game Boy, nice to meet you Miss Kim."

I stand and ruffle his lime green hair and he runs off to a room behind me.

I smile at the kid's innocence. I've never had to be nice to one before… The times I can remember ever meeting a small child I was either bringing it in for the Doctor to play with or I was silencing them for good.

I continue to the end of the hallway and take a left rounding the corner and nearly bumping into Logan leaning against the wall.

I jump back startled and he grins mockingly at me, "Thought I'd wait till you were done with the kiddies."

I cross my arms, "You could've helped. I have no idea how to deal normally with kids..."

He shrugs and looks at the floor.

I watch him suspiciously, "You were checking to see if I would hurt them, weren't you?"

He looks at me and says, "I just thought it would be funny to see your reaction; didn't think you'd go all soft on em."

"You're lying, I can smell it. Your fears are well placed though so I forgive you."

He grunts and steps forward, away from the wall, "So what do ya wanna do now?"

I shrug, "What is there to around here?"

He starts to walk and I follow him.

"What do you do for fun?"

He is quiet for a few steps and then says, "I normally do some training exercises or go for a run."

"Training sounds good, I need a good workout and I'm not used to going this long without even a push up."

He sighs, "You sure? I mean you don't have to kill yourself to make sure your ready for their missions anymore."

"I know, but truthfully I was the one always requesting training, to help keep myself in top condition just in case…"

We end up back at the large stairwell and I watch the kids running about with backpacks and books. Some of their mutations were physically visible while others were using theirs to show off or get to their next class and there were ones that looked like regular humans.

I twist my mouth and frown at all the voices and smells.

He stops and turns, noticing my grimace, "So you wanna train then huh? It'll be quieter at least… Let's hope Beast is done with my class down there then."

"What is it you teach exactly?"

We walk down the stairs and head down a hall, the kids slowly emptying out, but not without curious and excited stares at me first.

"I usually teach combat training, but since we've been back and got the classes set up, I've had Beast subbing for me."

"Why? Because of me?"

He grunts and I rub my knuckles, "Need someone to make sure I don't go off on the kiddies right?"

He growls, "No, the Professor just thought it would be better if you were to be shown around by someone you're familiar with."

I laughed coldly, "Familiar would mean that I actually knew you. You defended me from the doctors, but you weren't the nicest guy in the world, I got a scar under my neck from when you threatened to slit my throat' cause I wouldn't stop crying."

He stops dead in his tracks, tenses.

"I forgave you though 'cause I knew that what the doctors were gunna do to me was a lot worse."

I hesitantly pat his shoulder and he jumps a little but then I can see him slowly force himself to relax.

He growls, "That will never happen again."

"Nonsense."

He whips his head around, looking at me shocked and confused.

"If I ever happen to go berserk, which I was known to do quite often at that hell hole I expect you to be the one to take me out, permanently if possible."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

He growls, low and dangerous, "I've asked that of others but, never knew how it sounded. I don't think it'll ever have to come to that, kiddo."

I watch him as he takes a deep breath calming himself, his fists relaxing from the tight balls he had them in.

"If it ever does though, I'm hoping I can get out of here, but I lose all control..."

I shrug, "So… training…"

He looks like he wanted to tell me something, but instead he just turns back around and starts walking again.

I wonder where he learned to control himself so well. He mentioned asking others to take him out if he lost it too.

Thanks to the doctors we must have quite a bit more in common than I initially thought.

My control comes and goes, that's why I trained excessively, because it gave me a way to vent instead of randomly flipping out and stabbing a guard; although, that was always much more satisfying…

.

He stops in front of the round elevator that we came up earlier this morning from the med lab. He opens a small panel on the wall and quickly inputs a code that I memorize, never know when it could come in handy.

We step inside when the door slides open and I rub my knuckles absentmindedly in the silence.

When the door opens I see the familiar blue steel and the sterile medical scent drifts to my nose from the right.

He walks out and to the left, leading me past closed steel doors, some of them with key pads or hand print scanners next to them.

The one we stop at is a set of double metals doors with another keypad next to it on the wall. He checks a monitor above the keypad, touching the screen to bring a video feed from inside into view.

There's a group of kids standing in there facing Beast all wearing black uniforms with red, yellow, and blue accents. He's moving his hands around as he talks about something and the kids look like they're either listening intently or ignoring him completely.

Logan frowns and says, "Looks like they're almost done, Hank's boring them with one of his summary lectures."

I cross my arms and watch as Beast keeps talking away happily to the group. They look to be about 15 to 17 years old and their attention spans are visibly waning.

Finally he waves them towards the door, dismissing them.

Logan steps back and I do the same, eyeing the door and ensuring that my temporary guise is still working.

The doors open and a few kids come running out and down the hall, a couple boys walk out after them, one catching my eye as I recognize him.

Iceman grins at Logan when he seems him, "We _totally_ missed you today Wolverine, Beast had us working on evasion today."

The playful mocking tones so different from his scared and wimpy display back at the facility, it's almost like he's a different person.

He eyes me over once and walks away with a dark haired, Asian kid with large headphones around his neck.

Three girls walk out all smiles and giggles, one girl waves happily at Logan and then they all look at me curious.

Suddenly one of the girls is no longer there and the man standing in her place causes me to freeze in horror. Wraith looks at me in confusion and I back up so fast from him I fall on my ass and start to scramble backwards.

He walks towards me with the two girls and asks, "Are you ok? What's wrong?"

Looking at the girls, worried, he says, "Am I doing it again?"

They shrug and he looks back at me, holding out both hands, trying to calm me, "I'm sorry! Hold on a sec, I'll fix it."

I snarl at him, "You're supposed to be dead! I killed you, you son of a bitch!"

He looks horrified and Logan finally steps in grabbing his shoulder and pulls him back towards the doors.

He growls and tells him, "Calm down, Dani, try to rein it in. Remember what the Professor has taught you."

What the hell is he doing? I watch, wide-eyed and trembling, as the man who I thought was dead takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

Wraith shimmers and then disappears, leaving the young tan, dark haired girl I saw earlier in his place.

I almost cry with relief, he wasn't actually there; it was just some stupid little mutant.

She looks over at me and smiles a little, scared, seeing the look of fear gone.

Beast steps out from the room and looks at me and then at Logan, "What's going on here, Logan?"

Logan pushes the girl towards the hallway, gently, "Go on and get changed and get back upstairs."

The girl looks upset but walks away with the other two girls staring at me as they pass, before whispering wildly about who I was.

I just sit there for a minute trying to recollect myself from that pathetic display.

Logan walks over offering me a hand. I ignore it and stand up on my own, pissed at myself.

He drops his hand, watching me for any more reactions.

Beast scratches his head, "So if I may inquire, what just occurred? And who would you be dear?"

I look at him confused before realizing I still had my cover up.

I shift changing back to my favorite form again.

He bites his blue lips, piecing together what he saw with the knowledge that the terrified girl he saw is me.

Logan looks at him and explains, "She ran into Dani and saw Wraith."

Beasts eyes go wide with understanding, "Ah, well I will see to it that another confrontation be avoided at all costs."

I growl, "You don't have to treat me special, just because I was a fucking idiot and freaked for no reason. Even I could tell that she didn't do it on purpose. I just acted like a little pathetic kid seeing the boogeyman. It _WON'T_ happen again."

Beast nods, "But just the same, for the time being and everyone's safety, I'll have a little chat with her and the Professor. Now I assume you two were going to take a tour of the danger room until lunch?"

Logan nods and Beast smiles at me, "Well then enjoy and I shall see you later."

He walks away and I cross my arms, glaring at Logan, "At least he admits that he's worried about me hurting someone."

He grunts and walks through the doors. I hesitate and then follow him.

.

As I enter the first thing I notice is that it's just an empty room, huge, the size of a football field, but barren of any furniture, or even exercise equipment.

"This is your training facility?"

The doors closed and he says, "This is the Danger Room. It uses a combination of robotics and weaponry with holographic simulations to help produce training scenarios for the students and for the X-men."

"So how's it work?"

I cross my arms and watch as Logan walks into the center of the room and says, "Logan's Run level 5."

I raise an eyebrow at the name, but remain silent, watching in awe as the room suddenly darkens and then I'm in a forest. I turn around looking at the realistic trees surrounding me.

I hear a noise behind me, whipping around, my claws extending, ready to stab the attacker.

I stop inches away from Logan's arm, which was up blocking his face.

He growls, gently and I lower my arm, "So what's the objective?"

He grins, "Stay alive."

He jumps backwards as a laser beam blasts right where he was standing.

I turn, crouching and looking up at where the beam came from. Towering above the trees I can see the metallic red and purple of a monstrous sentinel. I have never seen one this large…

A metal tentacle whips through the tree tops towards me and I flip backwards, slicing it. It sparks, but doesn't fully sever, causing it to whip awkwardly back and forth.

Logan grabs my shoulder and pulls me backwards into the trees.

I turn and run after him, dodging trees and laser blasts.

Suddenly he stops, slipping behind a tree truck and puts a finger up to his lips, silencing me.

I peek around the trees to see the robot's feet stomping through the trunks, towards us.

I tap him on the shoulder and point up the tree and he nods.

Quickly and quietly we scale the tree trunks with our claws, getting as high as we can without losing our hiding spot.

I crouch on a thick branch, waiting for the sentinel to get close enough.

When its legs get within range I jump onto one and deftly climb up to its neck.

I glance down to see Logan climbing up behind me, dodging the tentacles and the large hands trying to grab us.

I quickly stab into the neck and slice through the metal like warm butter. It sparks, causing me to flinch a bit, but I grin as I can feel the machine slowly shut down.

It falls with a slam, dirt and tree debris flying into the air.

I stand up on its back and grin over at Logan, "What's the matter, _old man_, can't keep up?"

He growls, "Old man is it? Well then, let's make this interesting, how about seeing who can take out the most tin cans before lunch?"

"What does the winner get?"

He shrugs, thinking, "If you win I'll take you to the mall instead of the Cajun, but if I win you have to help me with a training lesson once you get all settled in."

I raise an eyebrow at the prizes, both seeming like uncharacteristic suggestions for the gruff man. Shopping or teaching?

I smile and hold out my hand, "You gotta deal."

He takes the offered hand, suddenly grinning with a look that makes me consider what I just agreed to.

"Duck."

He frowns, confused, "What?"

I point above his head, "Duck."

He drops to his stomach as a tentacle whips right through the spot where he was standing.

I flip, backwards off the metal corpse and charge towards the new threat, grinning as I hear Logan trying to catch up to me.


	10. Waiting

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>I quickly step away from the console and stand there trying to look casual as the danger room doors opened.<p>

They walk out, side by side, laughing and smiling.

She playfully punches Wolverine in the shoulder, "Don't be a sore loser, Logan. I won fair and square!"

He growls, "That last one was mine."

She shakes her head, "You only took it down, and I'm the one who disabled it, making me the one who actually took it."

"How about a draw?"

"Nope, I won, and I don't know why you're trying to weasel outta of it, but the fact that you don't wanna do it makes me want to go shopping even more."

She crosses her arms and sticks her tongue out at him. He crosses his arms as well and looks sternly at the green woman.

I watch this display with awe.

Since I met them at the facility, I haven't seen either of them act so nonchalantly before and I have never seen a smile like that on Kim's face…

Suddenly both of them look at me, the playfulness disappearing in an air of annoyance.

I smile awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck, "Fancy seeing you two here, I was just waiting to use the Danger Room…"

She eyes me suspiciously and my stomach does a weird flip.

She cocks her head, "Where is your accent?"

I sigh, relieved, and then quickly start to explain. "Well, remember when you taught me how to speak English? Well I explained it to the Professor and asked if he could help me mask it in order to fit in better here. I-"

She laughs mockingly at me, "Your accent is what's keeping you from fitting in?"

She gives me a look that was questioning how serious I was.

I look down at my hands, rubbing my thumb over my two other digits and Logan huffs, "You wanna join us for lunch, Elf?"

I look up at him, grinning happily, "Really?"

He rolls his eyes, "Would I have asked if I didn't want you there?"

I wave my tail and smile at Kim who is studying my face like it was something confusing and interesting to her.

I can feel my face warm slightly, so I turn, pointing to the end of the hall with the elevator, "Shall we then?"

Logan grunts and we walk down the hall.

My feet were silent against the cold metal because they were bare, (I have yet to find a pair of shoes that have felt comfortable on my oddly shaped feet) but Kim's were silent as well, even with the large boots she had on.

Wolverine had tan steel-toed boots on his feet and he made a clomping noise that echoed down the hall. I fought myself to not turn around and watch her walk, to see if she actually just floated.

Thankfully we came upon the elevator and I pressed the only visible button, the door sliding open. I turned and smiled, waving my hand at the elevator.

As they both walk in and I glance down at Kim's feet, frowning as I see her stepping as heavily as Logan, but with no sound.

My eyes glance up at her mesmerizing, green tail waving back and forth with each step.

I quickly step in when she turns around, keeping my eyes to floor.

The lift moved smoothly, taking us to the first floor, in silence.

When the door slides open I look up staring as Kim's green skin, became pale white. Her black and green hair, which was a lot shorter than I remember it, became longer and brown, in a ponytail. Her tail wrapped around her right leg and then vanished into the material of her pants.

I stare in awe as she steps out of the lift, a normal, human-looking, version of her green self.

She looked like that when we first met her, but I never watched her change like that up close…

I quickly follow them as Logan leads the way to the dining hall.

I smile and nod at the people we pass by, some returning the greeting, others looking away quickly with a slight hint of fear in their eyes.

That never used to bother me as much back in Germany, but when I came here each look seemed like a little needle jabbing into my heart.

I frown and then return my attention to the intriguing woman in front of me.

She walks all tensed up, like she's waiting for an attack. She keeps looking around her, like she's trying to memorize the area while scanning for possible enemies. And every time a person passes, she looks to the ground, hands balled into fists.

The students passing by stare at her, trying to figure out who she is, trying to understand why she was being escorted by Herr Logan and me.

As we approach the doors to the dining hall Wolverine glances at Kim, "Just so you know, there's probably gunna be quite a few people in there, kid. I figure we could hurry, grab our food and maybe eat in one of the studies."

She takes a deep breath and says, "I don't have to eat, I-" He growls and says, "You're gunna eat, kid. This ain't the facility; we don't let our kids starve."

She shrugs and grabs her arm, that one little sign of uneasiness slipping through her tough act.

I walk around them, "I could always go in there and bring some food out for you."

She sets her jaw, frowning at the door before looking at me and saying, "Do I look weak to you? I can handle being in a room with a bunch of kids. I'm not some pathetic little girl who's never had to deal with a crowd before."

She walks towards the doors and I look at Wolverine, trying to explain, "That's not what I meant…"

He nods and then follows her into the dining hall, noise bursting out as the doors open. I quickly follow them, hoping that the others don't mob her like they did me when I first arrived.

.

I step into the room, frustrated at myself and at Logan and Nightcrawler, and then cringe as the din of at least 30 people meets my ears, the smell of the food hardly even registering.

I look around at the long tables where there was food being tossed between people, groups of friends were laughing together, some mutants were using their powers on their food to show off, and there were a small handful of people who were eating quietly by themselves.

I slowly try to make my way around the nearest table, trying to be inconspicuous, but more and more people notice and start staring.

As I make it around one table, I start to weave through people to the kitchen's swinging doors.

I would have made it without incident too, but suddenly a girl's head appears through the back of the person next to me smiling and saying "Hi!"

I give a small shout and jump back, bumping into Nightcrawler, who grabs my shoulders gently to steady me.

The rest of the girl emerges from the young man, holding a tray of food, and stands there smiling. She's thin, about 5'5", with brown hair and brown eyes.

She puts out a hand and cheerfully says, "Hi! My name is Kitty, Kitty Pryde. Are you Kim?"

She smiles and waits. I stare at her hand and then back up at her in disbelief. The people surrounding me are all staring now and I almost feel glad that Nightcrawler is still holding my shoulders.

I shrug, making him let go, than say. "Yeah I'm Kim."

The air around me suddenly became tense and from the others watching me I hear quiet gasps and hushed, excited whispers.

I try to take deep breathes, trying to stay calm.

She bounces a bit, grinning excitedly, "Well I guess we're gonna be neighbors then. Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and I are in the room next to yours."

"Ah…"

I try to look around her and her other people around us, at the kitchen door, but too many people have gathered to watch.

I turn and look at Nightcrawler, begging him with my eyes to help.

He smiles understandingly and leans around me, "Kitty, I'm sure you two can talk later. Kim needs some breathing room and some lunch as well. So if you all would be so kind as to make a path…"

Kitty gives him a quick dirty look and grips her tray tightly, glancing at me, "Sure thing, Kurt. Talk to you later then Kim?"

I hesitate and then nod, just to get her out of my way.

She gets this victorious look and then turns to face all the people blocking us, "All right, guys! You're all being rude, bothering this poor girl while she's trying to get her lunch. Now move it!"

She starts to push through the group and they shout, upset at her actions, and begin to shuffle out of the way.

I follow the odd girl and when I can reach the kitchen doors I quickly slip in and when I find it empty I lean against a bare wall and sigh.

I close my eyes trying to recollect myself, so I don't seem weak when the other two come in.

When the door swings open I quickly sand up, crossing my arms watching Nightcrawler and Logan walk in. "See, told you I was fine."

I glare at Nightcrawler, ensuring he wouldn't say anything about my silent cry for help.

Logan, unconvinced, nods, "Sure you were, kid."

I watch him as he crosses the kitchen and opens up the huge, steel fridge; leaning in to examine the contents.

Thinking of food reminded of my previous escort, "Where's Gambit?"

Logan grunts, "Probably sleeping, seeing as he was up all night. He's got insomnia or sumthin'."

"Ah, I see..."

He emerges from the fridge with a large blue plastic container and a couple of red and white cans.

I track him, curious, as he moves about the kitchen grabbing two glass plates from a cupboard and a couple forks.

As he's moving he glances at Nightcrawler who is still standing near me, like a little blue dog, "You're gunna have to fix something for yourself, Elf. There are only two steaks in here."

My stomach growls quietly at the word steak and I watch him with a little more intensity.

He lifts the lid off the container, which is labeled 'Wolverine's' with three claw marks drawn in marker on it. On each plate he drops a huge, thick steak and then he puts them in the microwave.

As they're cooking I watch Nightcrawler rummage through the fridge, pulling out the makings for a large sandwich.

When the microwave _dinged_ I nearly jumped.

Logan pulls the plates out and hands one to me, "It not the Cajun's cookin' but it's food."

I take the plate, the cold can with the words 'Coca Cola' on it, and the offered fork and knife and sit at the table in the same spot I did this morning.

Logan sat in the same seat as well, but Nightcrawler teleported in a flash of black-blue smoke, reappearing in the seat right near me on my left.

I growl at him, my fork bent slightly, from the shock.

I sniff, smelling the odd burnt, fiery smell that must be coming from his smoke…

I fix my fork and then cut off a piece of the meat, still bloody, but warm.

I smile in happiness as I eat it, "This is really good, Logan. You made it right?"

He nods and continues eating. Nightcrawler munches on his sandwich noisily, looking like he hasn't eaten in over a month.

I pop open the can and take a sip of the drink, fizzy and sweet.

"What is this?"

Nightcrawler laughs, "It's soda, have you never had it before?"

"I wasn't allowed sweet things or junk foods. They were counterproductive to their torture and training methods."

Sadness flashes over his face before quickly being covered by a smile, "Well then, I'll have to take you to this amazing place in town called Big Bob's Burgers!"

I look at him like he's crazy before returning to my lunch. I continue devouring it in silence, watching the swinging doors, hoping no one decides to come in here to eat as well.

When I finish, Logan takes my plate again and washes it. Nightcrawler teleports out of his seat and does the same.

Spotting the clock I frown, it's only 1pm. What am I gunna do until Xavier's ready?

I get up and glance at the door near the table, "Is that another exit?"

I can still hear a commotion in the dining room, so I really hope so…

Nightcrawler walks over and opens it, revealing an empty hallway, "If I had thought about it I would have suggested we used this door to begin with…"

I glare at him and step out into the hall, enjoying the total silence.

I turn to face Logan and ask, "So what now?"

I study his stance and notice a drooping in his shoulders.

Before he can suggest anything I say, "You need a nap."

He frowns, not expecting that suggestion.

Nightcrawler looks at him too and says, "You do look tired, Herr Logan. You have not slept much since you've been back and I'm sure the naps in the Med Lab didn't do much for you."

Logan runs a hand through his hair and sighs, "Do you think you'll be alright with the Elf for a couple hours?"

I shrug, "I'll read a book or something and we should be fine. Stop worrying about me and get your ass to bed. If I do have an 'episode' later what good are you gunna do when you're falling asleep in your chair?"

He frowns, studying my face before, huffing in defeat, "Meet me back at your room at three and we'll go talk to the Professor."

"Kay."

He hesitates and then walks off down the hall towards the main entrance.

Once he was gone I turn to look at Nightcrawler, "So…"

He grins mischievously, "Would you like to see the roof?"

I contemplate it, "Sure, why not."

He holds out his hand and I ignore it, putting a hand on his shoulder, and he teleports us, leaving behind that fiery smelling smoke.

.

I sit Indian-style on the sloped roof, staring out at the town rooftops past the trees.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Nightcrawler lying on his back, arms behind his head, staring up and the clouds.

I wonder why he's been so nice to me… He saw firsthand what I'm really like and yet he acts like I'm a friend.

I just don't understand these people…

I sigh and begin to rub my knuckles, contemplating just leaving, but again the fact that the files are here somewhere holds me back. "Do you like it here?"

He props himself upon his elbows and looks at me, "So far, yes. I'm still trying to get used to their routines and rules, but compared to the other places I've been, this is by far the best."

"Do you think that I could fit in here? I mean the facility is only place I've ever lived and-"

"Yes, yes you will. You just need to let the others get to know you and see that your past does not control you and you need to see yourself as the person you actually are, not the one the Wraith made you think you are."

I glance at him as he sits up and then I return to looking out at the trees.

He seems so sure, but he doesn't know all the things I've done… Hell, I don't even know all the shit they made me do, but he seems willing to give me a second chance.

Logan said this was a place for second chances; maybe I _can_ be more than Project X's weapon…

I'm startled out of thought by Nightcrawler jumping up and clapping his hands together.

He smiles and says, "What do you want to do now? Train more? Play a video game? Meet some of the others? Take a walk downtown?"

I don't normally make any decisions so I just I shrug, "I don't know, what do you-"

"Nope you have to pick, fraulien."

He's quickly beginning to annoy me; I have no idea what I want to do.

"Well I don't think I'm quite ready to meet anyone else, especially after lunch and I have no idea what a video game is…"

He brushes off his blue jeans and fixes his red t-shirt, waiting patiently for an answer, his tail flicking back and forth slowly.

Suddenly I have an idea, "Gambit said there are libraries here?"

He smiles and nods, "Would you like to go visit one?"

I stand up, maintaining my balance on the sloping shingles, "Why not? I haven't read a book in years, ever since Wraith found out I liked it."

He smiles sadly at me and holds out his hand again, "Well then the library it is then, maybe we can scare any occupants out, so you don't have to worry about being interrogated."

He snickers and I put my hand on his shoulder again, allowing him to teleport us to the library.

When we arrive with that noise, smell and smoke two young girls sitting at a desk with open books jump, causing Nightcrawler to grin.

They stare at him, a hint of fear rolling off them as they take in his demon-like features.

He waves playfully and says, "Boo!"

They jump and quickly gather their things, stuffing them in their backpacks, before hurrying out the nearest door.

I smile a little as Nightcrawler laughs at his little prank.

"Is that how you charm all the girls?"

He chuckles, his blue cheeks darkening in a blush, "I have always been quite the lady's man, fraulien."

I shake my head, smiling as I take in the musty, dim room.

The walls are lined with stuffed bookshelves and the rest of the room was filled with more large bookshelves, comfy-looking chairs, and desks for studying. Near the door was a little scanner to record what book you borrow I assume. There are no windows, just dim lights and desk lamps to help protect the books.

I walk towards the shelves, glancing at the new and old books, catching a title here or there. A lot were reference books to actually study from with topics like history, geography, physics, anatomy, genetics, and art. Then along a long wall I find nothing but fictional books; romance, adventure, science fiction, and bunches of others.

Nightcrawler follows me and seeing the adventure stories he crouches down, examining the ones on the lower shelves.

One spine's cover catches my eye and I remove it from its place. It's a thick, black hardcover book, red blood shown dripping down from the top. I turn it over and read the title, '_Welcome Home'. _

I smirk at the irony and flip open the cover, reading the synopsis.

Apparently it's about a disfigured young man, abandoned as a child, living on the streets, begging for money. Then one day he meets a young woman with a matching disfigurement who lives life as normal and average as possible. He shows her the darker side of life while in turn she shows him all the things good about it and slowly they begin to discover that their horrible disfigurement is part of a secret of what they actually are.

A romance, fantasy novel… I tilt my head, deciding on whether or not to bother with it.

Something tells me I should, so I leave Nightcrawler to peruse the books and I locate a cushy chair to sit in and read.

I plop down, curling my legs underneath me, leaning on one of the arms. I open it up and begin reading, enjoying the feeling of the pages as I flip through them.

Nightcrawler walks over eventually and plops down in a chair nearby, glancing at the cover of his book I see a man dressed as a pirate, holding up a sword.

Thinking back to his file that Sabertooth made me read that said he liked to think he was a swashbuckler, I roll my eyes and then return to my novel.

.

Half way through the book Nightcrawler interrupts me, standing up and saying, "Wolverine said that we had to meet him at three back at your room. What exactly for, may I ask?"

I close my book, memorizing the page number and while standing up and stretching, I say, "The Professor has the files that I rescued from the labs and he asked me to wait until he was done with classes to look at 'em."

A flash of worry goes over his furry face, "Why have you wait so long? What are the files?"

"He's worried I'm gunna go postal like I did when I saw Wraith… Those files hold all the information on me, Logan, and Sabertooth that the scientist thought important to record. They never kept information on the computer just in case S.H.E.I.L.D. or somebody hacked into their systems and found out they were basically just torturing mutants."

Wide-eyed with understanding, "So you might find out who you're parents are!"

I nod, "Although, Wraith gave me a detailed a description of how I murdered both my parents right before they took me…"

He shakes his head, frowning, "But he could've been lying."

"Maybe..."

I go put the book back on the exact place on the shelf where I found it and then ask him, "Are we walking or teleporting?"

He grins, "You're the first one who's taken so naturally to my teleporting, the others usually get sick afterwards."

"I'm sure that you don't need to be told that I'm not like everyone else."

"I certainly do not."

He gives me a smile and holds out his hand.


	11. The File

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>He teleports us right outside my bedroom door, "If you need anything Fraulien, just knock on my door, I'm right across the hall."<p>

I nod, he ports away, and then I turn the door handle, finding it locked. Logan never handed me the key…

I almost use my "key" on the door, but I think I'd rather have the door left intact.

So, instead I go to the door to the door to my left and rap on it loud enough to ensure anyone sleeping would be woken up.

Someone from within growls viciously and throws something metallic against the door hard; probably a can, judging by the clang sound. There's silence for a moment and then I begin to hear muffled cursing and hurried movements.

After a minute or two the door flies open and Logan greets me, flustered.

His hair gives away the fact that he just woke up, he's in a red flannel shirt and jeans with tan work boots; all of which look hastily thrown on.

I glance in the room to see a mess. Clothes, beer cans and bottles, and other random things clutter the floor. Logan follows my look and frowns at the room before stepping out and quickly closing the door.

"Have a nice nap?"

He grunts and runs his fingers through his hair, trying to fix it, "Sorry kid, forgot to set the alarm."

I shrug, "No big deal, you needed sleep anyways."

We both glance at the end of the hall where a girl steps out of a room and quickly runs around the corner, fixing her backpack.

"So is Xavier free to let me look at my file now?"

"Yeah his last class should have finished up a little bit ago."

He starts down the hall, "You ready for this?"

"I dunno… I have no idea what I'm gunna do with any of the information, but I wanna read it none the less."

He glances over his shoulder at me, looking sad, "Will you go and try to find your parents if they're alive?"

Would I?

"Never thought about it, I dunno… Probably not. I have no idea how to be someone's kid and if I do have parents there's no way they would accept me now, after all I've done."

He stiffens a little, but stays silent.

"I mean, what would I say to them? Hey mom and dad! I'm your kid who's been a captive of the government for the past 14 years; wanna know how many people I've killed? Or would you rather see me kill something with my shiny new claws?"

I roll my eyes and cross my arms, "Of course I don't think I have parents anymore, Wraith told me I killed them."

I smile a little as the image of his corpse flashes through my head, I killed him too.

We're already walking down the hallways past classrooms and Logan is still quiet.

"So did you read your file?"

He grunts in confirmation.

"Did you get any info from it to link you to your family? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

He stops in front of a dark, cherry wood door with a gold plate on it reading 'Charles Xavier Headmaster.'

"I did, but I don't know what I should do with it yet…"

He knocks and a pleasant voice from inside invites us in, so he opens the door.

I walk in after Logan and look around to see a large, nicely decorated office with a desk, full bookshelves, an overstuffed couch, and some other random decorations.

Xavier is sitting behind his desk which has two padded chairs sitting opposite him.

An image of Wraith in the interrogation room at his desk settles at the forefront of my memories and I shake my head to try and clear it away.

Xavier smiles and waves his hand to the seats, "Please, have a seat."

I hesitate and then walk across the room and sit in one of the chairs. Logan follows me, sitting in the other.

"Ok, so let's get this over with."

Xavier smiles sadly, "Yes, indeed."

He leans over, opening a desk drawer and removes two thick files with the edges slightly toasted. He places them on the desk in front of me and I just sit there for a moment, staring at them.

I suddenly feel a little ill; I'm going to find out answers to everything. Who I am, where I'm from, what's been done to me…

Trembling slightly I reach out and pull the top file closer to me. The top corner is labeled 'Project Pandora.'

I flip it over so I can start at the back; I want to work up to my origins…

Everything around me disappears as I open it up, my eyes focused on this alone.

I turn over the first page and begin to read an account of one of my fits of rage by Dr. Cornelius. I remember that one; I killed one of Wraith's favorite goons.

Quickly reading through it I notice that he mentions me adapting to something and something about enhancements.

I flip through more pages reading about tests checking on the progression of the mentioned enhancements, my general physical and psychological status, and experiments they subjected me to.

A lot of this I don't recall, but I keep flipping. Occasionally there's a picture or two, some of me just going about my day, others while I was unconscious on the "cutting board," and some of injuries that I got from something or other.

When I get closer to the front of the file I finally find the information pertaining to what the enhancements were…

.

I stare at the picture paper-clipped to the stapled bunch of papers in my hand.

Staring back at me was a small little girl, frowning, looking like she just finished crying with red eyes and wet streaks down her face.

She was Caucasian with shoulder-length black hair and a short little fuzzy black tail.

I move the picture so I can read the information behind it. This little girl was me...

There was no green skin or adamantium yet; just my healing and advanced senses with a cat-like appearance.

According to Cornelius, he had designed this new genetic enhancement that would unlock dormant x-genes in subjects using another mutant's genes in combination with some chemical formula he developed along with strong doses of radiation. 98% of the subjects died, but the one mutant that did survive became so horribly deformed and mutated they disposed of it.

During his experimentation Cornelius found something in my genetic code which made me a promising subject for his enhancements. And so, over the course of the year after I was brought there he experimented on me, applying his enhancements with stunning results.

My skin became dark green; my tail lost all its fur becoming pointed at the end, my hair and eyes changed as well. I became the freak I am now…

Cornelius claimed that I gained a remarkable resemblance to the mutant whose DNA they used, he was named Azazel or something like that.

The enhancements also helped improve my agility, strength, my senses, and they also awoke another dormant mutant ability; my shape shifting and mimicry.

At first they didn't realize I could copy other mutants' abilities until one day when I tried escaping after another memory therapy.

That's when they realized my full potential and Project Pandora was born. After that the other experiments Cornelius performed were to test my limitations and keep an eye on the enhancements ensuring the radiation I that was exposed didn't cause any other adverse effects.

.

I pause before turning the final section of pages, flipping back to look at the little girl in the picture, noticing her dirty hair and skin and the ragged white dress she was wearing.

She had little circular bruises on her bare legs and looked like she had been hit in the face recently.

Who does that shit to a little girl?

I know that little girl is supposed to me but I just can't make any connection to her, like she's just some stranger. They really did turn me into a monster…

I wince as the head ache I felt developing as I read through the file, gets worse.

I take a deep breath and flip over the last few pages. The first thing that draws my eye is my name, my full name.

Kimberley Elizabeth Howlett…

I actually have a last name, a family, a history…

I cringe as the headache pulses painfully blurring my vision for a moment.

I shake my head and I think someone put a hand on my shoulder, but I'm too focused to actually see or hear them.

Once my vision returns I stare at the rest of the page that was like a brief analysis of me right after I was captured.

**Name: **Kimberley Elizabeth Howlett

Four (**4**) years old on date of procurement.

**Notes: **Mutation seems to be enhanced senses, a regenerative factor, four (**4**) bone 'blades' emerging just above each knuckle on each hand, as well as a physical similarity to a feline with a prehensile tail and the vertical pupils. Upon analysis of the mutant parents she seems to have received a combination of mutations from both.

*****Very good candidate for genetic enhancement experimentation, possible candidate for skeletal enhancement as well

XxX

**Father: **James Howlett

**AKA**: Logan Howlett, Wolverine

Age unknown, advanced regenerative factor makes it impossible to determine age.

**Notes: **Mutation is advanced senses, regenerative factor, and three (**3**) bone 'blades' emerging from in between the knuckles on each hand. Has a background in the military, most recent being part of a black ops group of mutants under the name Logan Howlett; serving with Code Name Sabertooth.

*****Candidate for skeletal enhancement process

XxX

**Mother: **Katherine Marie Creed Howlett

**AKA:** Wild Kat

Age unknown, advanced regenerative factor makes it impossible to determine age

**Notes: **Mutation is a feline physical resemblance with a prehensile tail, pointed teeth and ears, retractable claws on fingertips, yellow 'cat's eyes,' as well as enhanced senses

**DECEASED **

**.**

None of this seems familiar at all…

But my…

They said my father had three blades and called himself Logan and… Wolverine?

I look from the file and focus through the building pain to view the office around me again; I look up at the man gripping my shoulder, worried, saying something that I just can't hear.

Logan is my father?

As I come to that realization my head begins to feel like it's being ripped in half.

I think I screamed, but I didn't hear it. I lean forward in the chair, gripping my head, trying to hold it together. The pain just keeps building like my skull is gunna burst.

Someone touches my back and thrash to try and get them off me because every little touch is shooting fire up my spine to make the pain even worse if that was even fucking possible.

Suddenly everything goes white, the feeling of pain, my vision, all my senses are white.

It's impossible but I taste, smell, hear, feel _white_.

That pain feels so far away now…

The whiteness slowly fades and gives way to black and then nothingness.


	12. Memories That Linger

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>I smile up at mommy, watching her peel potatoes with her sharp claws and then I watch her black, furry tail wave back and forth and I make my smaller black furry tail copy her movements.<em>

_She holds out a potato and I hold the pot up so she can put it in with the rest. _

"_Are we eating deer tonight mommy?" _

_She chuckles, "We'll have to see what daddy brings home for us, now won't we?"_

_I nod and think of daddy out in the woods running after a frightened bunny and giggle. _

_Mommy looks down at me flashing her sharp teeth and her yellow eyes sparkle, "What's so funny Kitten?" _

"_I shake my head smiling, "Nothing." _

_She puts her potato down and then suddenly turns around tickles me, her claws now normal fingers again. _

_I laugh and run away, still holding the pot. I run towards the door and put it down on the couch before opening the door and running outside. _

_I hear mommy running after me and then stop._

_I turn around and see mommy near the door looking angry. _

_I sniff and smell something I know. I follow my nose like daddy always tells me to do and behind one of the nearest trees I spot a hand holding out a stuffed tiger. _

_I recognize those claws! _

_I run towards the tree and jump up at the man hiding there, "Uncle Vic!" _

_He picks me up and squeezes me, purring. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to purr too, but it only sounds like a growl. _

_He chuckles and says, "You're getting good at that Kitten." _

_I grin and he walks us over to mommy who looks mad. _

_He nods at her, "Hey Kat." _

_She looks out at the trees and says, "Victor, you know you shouldn't be here. If James were here-"_

_Uncle Vic puts me down and hands me the tiger, "He's not here?" _

_She lashes her tail and says, "He's out catching dinner, but he should be back soon." _

_I look up at Uncle Vic, he's super tall and big, I like daddy better he's more mommy's size. _

"_Can't Uncle Vic stay for dinner mommy?" _

_She frowns at me, "You know daddy doesn't like Uncle being around too long." _

_He grumbles, "Come on sis, the Runt wouldn't deny his Kitten a dinner with her favorite uncle would he?" _

_I walk over to mommy showing her the tiger that smells like Uncle Vic and she pats my head, "Last time you visited you and Logan got into a fight and she wouldn't behave for a week." _

_He grins at me and says, "Good girl." _

_._

_He puts down a bag he had slung over his shoulder, "Look Kat we need to talk." _

_Mommy puts up a hand and says, "No Victor, I'm putting my foot down this time. I know what you do for work and I don't want that here. I know that because of what father did… you're not right Victor. If I could've stopped him back then you know I would've done my damndest, but now… I'm sorry Vic, but I'm not going to let Kim grow up with your history hanging over our heads." _

_I look at mommy's sad face and see it on Uncle Vic too._

_I give my tiger to mommy and walk back over to Uncle Vic and hug him he kneels down and hugs me back, it almost smells like he's crying, but I know that Uncle Vic never cries. _

_I sniff something else in the air too, it's not daddy but I smell people. _

_Uncle Vic stiffens and looks towards the smell. _

_Mommy smells it too and looks scared, "Victor! Who are they? Are they after you?" _

_He squeezes me tightly and then stands up, pushing me towards mommy. _

_I grab her hand, "Mommy who are they?" _

_Uncle Vic looks towards the smell again says, "They're here for you and James." _

_Mommy pushes me towards the house saying, "Go inside Kitten." _

_I stand in the doorway and watch as her tail lashes back and forth and her claws become sharper, "What have you done Victor?" _

_Uncle Vic picks up his bag again, "They found me and I got caught. And then they found out about you three. I got out and came to warn ya, but it looks like I wasn't fast enough. You need to get Kim and get out of here now." _

_Mommy just shakes her and so Uncle Vic yells at her, "They aren't the police, Katherine! They're a government program that's been pickin' off mutants for experiments! And they want all of us, especially her!" _

_He points to me and mommy looks back at me scared. _

"_Mommy is the people that I smell bad?" _

_I hug my tiger as mommy nods. I hear a stick snap and mommy looks at the trees. _

_Uncle Vic watches the trees and says to mommy, "Go now. Go find James and get the hell outta here. I'll hold them off." _

_Mommy rushes over to pick me up and I drop my tiger, but mommy doesn't let me get it. _

_She runs towards the trees where daddy is and stops quickly to look at Uncle Vic and says, "Thank you Victor." _

_He nods and mommy runs towards the smell of daddy._

_._

_Mommy is faster and stronger than a regular person and we made it to the open spot of trees where daddy was in no time. _

_He was kneeling next to a deer that was lying on its side. _

_I could smell the yummy redness and wanted some. _

_Daddy stands up and looks at us and then frowns, "What's wrong and why do I smell your piece of shit brother?" _

_Mommy shakes her head and says, "James we need to run, Victor is holding them off but I don't know how long he'll last, I think there were a lot of them." _

_Daddy lets his claws come out, long bones from his hand, they're really strong. _

_I saw daddy chop down a big tree with them. _

"_Who's here Kat? Is this about Victor?" _

_She shifts me on her hip and looks behind us, "He said they were something to do with the government, I don't know I thought you might know seeing as you were both in that group. Please Logan let's just go!" _

_He growls and then looks at me and nods. Mommy walks over to him and he hugs us both tight and then he pushes us ahead of him and mommy starts to run. I watch daddy running behind us and then suddenly he yells. _

"_Daddy!" _

_Something big and green just hit him. _

_Mommy stops and turns around and watches as he fights with this person all covered in green scales, like the big snake in the garden. _

_More people are in the trees, coming closer, but mommy is just yelling for daddy to stop fighting and keep running. _

_I flinch as something hits mommy in the shoulder, it looks like one of the metal things daddy throws at the board on the wall at home. _

_Mommy puts me down and says, "Run! Run Kimmy! Now!" _

_I don't want to leave mommy and daddy behind but mommy pushes me into the trees. _

_I watch as other strange looking people along with men all dressed in black with guns come out of the trees and mommy goes back to help daddy fight off the bad people. _

_I run into the woods like mommy said and I can hear shouts from behind me. I keep running until I hear a big cat roar, that's mommy's yell! _

_I run back to them and I can hear daddy yelling loudly too. Mommy sounded like she got hurt…_

_._

_I go back and hide behind a tree and peek to see what happened. _

_Daddy is on the ground holding someone in his lap and rocking like he was in his favorite chair. _

_I can smell blood and see a bunch of people lying on the ground around him. _

_There a bunch of those metal things sticking out of him. There are more bad people in the trees watching like me and eventually he falls over onto his side. _

_I run out of my hiding spot and over to him. He's not moving! _

_Then I see mommy, she smells different. Her eyes are open and she's looking up at nothing. _

_I try to shake her and her hand just flops on the ground, "Mommy wake up!" _

_I feel something on her tummy and see red soaking through her pretty blue shirt. _

_I'm crying but mommy won't wake up and so I try shaking daddy and say, "Daddy, get up! Mommy is hurt! Daddy!" _

_I hear something and see one of the bad people in the black. I block him from getting close to mommy and daddy and try growling like what mommy and daddy do. _

_The person laughs at me and says to the other bad people, "Looks like we got a little fighter on our hands guys." _

_He tries to grab me but I stab his hand with my claws, just like daddy's except mine are smaller and I have more than he does. _

_He jumps back, "You little bitch!" _

_He points his gun at me and shoots me. _

_I fall down and look at where it hurts and see two more of the metal things in my leg. I start crying and he laughs again. _

_The other bad people swarm around us, picking up daddy. And then the mean man grabs my hair and makes me stand up. _

_I scream because he's hurting me and I don't feel good. _

_He throws me at another person and they pull me away, just leaving mommy there. I keep yelling for mommy but nobody listens. _

_They take me back to the house and I see Uncle Vic standing there waiting. _

_He runs over and picks me up and says to the mean man, "You said you weren't going to hurt her." _

_He pulls the metal things out of my leg and I cry harder, it hurts a lot. _

_The man shows Uncle Vic his hand and says, "That little bitch stabbed me!" _

_Uncle growls and says, "You have James and Kat, I'm going now." _

"_No! Uncle Vic! They hurt mommy! We need to go get her!" _

_He looks at a man in a blue fancy suit and says, "What did you do to Kat?" _

_The man smiles, "She was the one who jumped in the fray to help her mate. One of the other mutants got a little too… zealous. And so seeing as we are one mutant short, we'll be taking the girl as well." _

_Uncle Vic growls again, "You said that if I gave you my sister and her husband you'd let me and the kid go." _

_The man admires his finger nails, "I don't make deals with mutants and besides won't the child resent you for getting her mother killed and her father captured? You would be better off just giving her to us anyway." _

_Uncle Vic holds me tighter and snarls, "Over my dead body!" _

_The fancy man smiles again, "As you wish…" _

_He waves his hand and Uncle Vic roars as he is shot by the metal things. Another one hits me and suddenly I start to feel even sicker and I start to get sleepy. _

_Uncle Vic turns around and shields me from the gun fire and falls down grunting in pain and I fall asleep in his arms._

_._

My eyes fly open, causing immense pain to shoot through my skull before becoming a dull throb.

I recognize the blue steel of the basement level and as I start to take in my other senses I hear the now familiar beeping sound from the machines in the med lab.

I try to sit up but every time I move more pain blooms in my head.

I clench my teeth, steeling myself for the rush of pain, as I force myself to sit up quickly.

"Fuck!"

I put both hands to my head and lean forward, reeling from the pain.

"You shouldn't be sitting up, you need rest."

I look up to see Beast standing in front of me, holding a clip board and frowning.

"Why does my head feel like it's been under a jack hammer for the past week?"

The pain is fading agonizingly slowly.

I keep one hand to my head use the other to rip the white blanket off me.

Thankfully I'm still dressed and not in one of those gowns again.

Beast holds out a hand, stopping me, "Before you try to get up I really need to do a quick check to see if the head trauma has affected any motor functions."

"Head trauma? I don't remember hitting my head; I just remember getting the worst migraine I've ever felt in my life. Almost felt like my head was actually gunna split in half and explode."

Beast nods, "From what I can deduce, the mind therapies and mutant hypnosis you've undergone throughout your life have made it so any memories trying to resurface produce painful headaches. If you weren't a mutant that would have killed you, acting just like you had a brain aneurysm."

"Well that's just fucking brilliant."

I look up quickly, pain making me regret the movement, looking for Logan in the corner like he was in last time.

"Where's Logan?"

Beast stops dead in the middle of checking a monitor, glancing at me he says, "We thought it best if we waited until we were sure you were ok, before we allowed him to come in. He's most likely waiting right outside or in the Danger Room."

Recalling the dream that I had I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, hissing through clenched teeth at the pain. Beast protests but I drop down, keeping a firm grip on the bed.

"I'm fine, I've lived through worse shit that a headache."

I take a deep breath and step forward, preparing for a fall. I smile a little as I find that I can walk perfectly fine, but the pain is making my vision go blurry round the edges.

Beast stands close ready to catch me if need be.

I walk towards the door, using anything stable to help keep me moving.

I open it and peek out, smiling as I see Logan leaning up against the wall further down.

His head snaps towards me and he stares, emotions flying over his face. Worry, sadness, anger, pain, frustration, happiness…

I walk over to him and as he pushes off the wall I notice a little girl hiding behind him, gripping his leg tightly.

.

"Hi."

"Hey Kiddo, how're you feeling?"

"I've felt better. My head feels like it got run over by a train, other than that I'm pretty good."

He frowns as I sway a little bit, "You need to lie down kid."

"I'll be fine. We need to talk first."

"I understand that, but we can't have you passing out in the middle of the hall…"

I shift back to my green self and sigh as some of the pain fades.

The girl starts to cry and grips Logan's leg tighter.

"Who's the kid?"

I point to his leg and he glances down and then back up at me, looking at me like I'm crazy, "What kid?"

"The one holding on to your leg, sniveling."

Logan glances over to Beast who followed me out of the Med Lab, "There isn't anyone there."

"Stop fucking with me, I can see her, right there."

I kneel down and hold out a hand to the kid, "Come here so these guys can see you."

She stops crying and slowly peeks her head out from behind Logan's leg. "See its okay, come on. I won't hurt you."

She lets go of Logan's leg and steps out into plain view in the hall.

"Holy shit…"

She looks up at me scared, her small, black cat tail drooping to the floor. I stand up and back up a bit,

"Maybe I am crazy..."

I point to the little girl with the black hair and the teary green cat's eyes, "No one else can see her right?"

She looks at Logan and Beast who shake their heads and she starts to sniffle, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Shit! Why the fuck does all this shit happen to me?"

I look up at Logan who's confused.

"Did you see that one picture? The one of me right after they got me- us? That's who I'm looking at right now."

She tugs on Logan's jeans, "Daddy, I wanna see mommy."

I feel like I just got punched in the gut. Mommy… That dream… It really happened.

"Maybe you guys are right, I need to lie down some more. My head's just fucking with me is all."

Beast nods in agreement, "It is possible that the head pain may have triggered hallucinations. Rest would be my first suggestion and if it persists I'll run some scans."

He waves me into the med lab and I shake my head, "I'm not gunna be able to willingly sleep in there."

Logan understands and says, "Then I'll take ya to your room."

I hold up a hand and point to the child he can't see, "I think I'll walk alone cause she seems to be attached to you, _daddy_."

He flinches a little at that title and looks at the floor.

"Besides it'll give you some time to think of a good excuse why you didn't tell me as soon as I was conscious the first time."

He opens his mouth to say something and I wave my hand, "Not now."

I walk down the hall, past a shocked Beast, towards the elevator and quickly enter.

As soon as the door closes I lean against the door and sigh.

My head hurts, I'm seeing small non-existent kids, and I just blew off the guy who's supposedly my father. And then there's that dream… Sabertooth is my uncle…

That son of a bitch sold us out, well he wanted to save me, but still. What kind of garbage trades his sister and her husband to a group who you know are going to experiment on them like animals?

If I ever see that bastard again, I'll kill him.

.

The door slides open and I quickly slip out, making my way through the halls to the stairs.

I glance out a window and see that it's dark out and as I pass by a clock on a wall I find that it's 8pm.

I was out for a good 4 hours at least…

As I get to the stairs a group of teenagers are coming in the front doors all talking loud and laughing. I run up the stairs, hopefully before they noticed me, and run around the corner to the hall where my room is.

I slow down as I approach the door, remembering that I was not given the key again.

I punch the wall next to it in frustration and slide down the wall to sit on the floor, waiting for someone or something to come by to help.

I'd use my claws but I want to be able to close the door once I get in there and I don't have a lock pick set to use either.

I could try teleporting in, but seeing as I haven't practiced the ability enough I could end up on the other side of the mansion or in a wall.

I begin to lean my head against the wall when I hear a door open.

I glance down the hall and see Gambit exiting his room, rubbing his red eyes and yawning.

"Gambit!"

He turns and grins when he sees me, "Hello cher and how are you dis lovely evening?"

He walks over and smiles down at me.

"I could be a lot better. Logan never gave me the key…"

He starts digging through his brown duster's pockets, "I have just de ting!"

He pulls out a really nice lock pick set and opens it up, selecting a couple that seem to have a little more wear than the rest. He kneels down in front of the door and within a few seconds it clicks and he opens the door.

"You do this quite often I take it?"

He stands and waves his hand towards the door, "Dis ain't nuthin' for a tief."

"A thief, huh? How did you end up here then?"

I stand up and he says, "It's a long story mon cher, maybe one day Gambit tell ya."

"Thanks, if you happen to spot Logan can you tell him to slide my key under the door?"

He smiles, "Sure ting, cher."

He walks away and I quickly slip into my room, the door clicking behind me.

.

I sigh, leaning against the door as the headache flares up again.

Suddenly giggles start emanating from the opposite corner of the room.

I flick on the light and snarl as I see that damn girl, jumping on my bed.

I storm over to her and she stops, standing there, looking intently at me.

"Why the fuck do I keep seeing you?"

She shrugs, "I dunno, can we see mommy now?"

"Mommy is dead kid, we- I saw her corpse."

Oh shit, here come the tears.

"Look, you're not even real, you're some little trick my head is playing. Now if you don't mind I want to try and get rid of this headache and you're certainly not helping."

She drops down onto the bed, bawling, "I am too real! You're a meany! I'm gunna tell my Uncle Vic on you and he's gunna hurt you!"

I grab her by the collar of her dress and say, "Listen brat, get the fuck outta my room and outta my head! I grew up! The little girl who had a happy life with her family is gone and there ain't no way she coming back."

She screams and I toss her to the floor, hoping this hallucination will just disappear, she feels real enough though…

She runs over and bites me on the leg, I kick her off and she flies into the dresser.

I watch as she just lays there not moving. Did I just kill my hallucination? I sit down on the edge of the bed and watch her, hoping she'll disappear and leave me alone.

I rub my green knuckles and recall the research in the file.

I wasn't supposed to look like this…

I was like her at one point in my life.

I growl and turn my attention back towards the kid.

Where the hell did she go?

She just vanished, maybe I'm done hallucinating.

Something touches my shoulder and I whip around, ready to stab whatever it is.

I snarl as I see the girl standing there grinning, her little tail waving back and forth.

"Why won't you go away?"

She cocks her head, still smiling, "Can I see mommy now?"

My vision starts to go reddish and blurry as the headache flares again.

I snarl and slam my claws into her chest. She stares at the claws and says, "That's not nice…"

She holds out a little hand and reaches out to touch the back of my neck.

I yell out in pain as Wraith's device starts shooting currents of electricity through my body. I reel back, falling off the bed, hitting the floor painfully.

"What the fuck?"

She peers over the edge of the bed and giggles, "Did you forget about the shocky-thing?"

It stops and I look up at her, panting.

"What are you?"

She smiles and leans farther over the edge of the bed, "I'm you silly. The little you, from before we got caught by the bad men."

I painfully sit up and stare at her, "I know that, but you're not real. No one else can see you…"

She shakes her head, "I am real! I am as real as you because we're the same person!"

"That makes no sense."

She points to my head, "You kept me in there, locked up by the bad men. The old man helped fix us when the locked up memories were hurting our head."

"What's with this _us_ and _our_ shit? It's MY head, MY memories."

So Xavier somehow caused all this? That must've been the white…

So that feeling where it was like my head was splitting in two was because- Because the functional memories were conflicting with the ones that the lab boys buried?

And somehow when Xavier did whatever he did, he formed my childhood memories into some sort of split personality hallucination?

She nods, smiling, "Yup, that's what happened."

"You can hear my thoughts now too?"

She giggles and nods.

I lay back on the floor, pressing my hands to my eyes in frustration, "Fuuuuuuuuuck!"

I hear her drop down off the floor and stand near me, "So can I see mommy _now_?"

I uncover my eyes and look up at her, "What?"

This shit again?

"Our mom is dead kid, I already told you-"

"NO!"

She covers her ears and shakes her head, "Mommy was just hurt, we just have to go back and find her and she'll be alright! Daddy and Uncle Vic can help her!"

"Our _Dad_ doesn't even remember us and _Uncle Vic _is the asshole that got her killed and put me and Logan in that hell hole."

She shakes her head harder and then growl a little bit, sounds like a little cub.

She points at me and says, "Remember you still have the shocky-thing! Stop being mean!"

I sit up and slide away from her, "What do you want me to do? I can't give you what you want, kid."

"We just need to go back and help mommy."

"Back? Like to where we used to live?"

She nods, "Yeah, mommy is there, I know it."

"I don't even know where the house was! And what makes you think I'm just gunna go traipsing around on your little goose chase?"

She grins, "If you take me, I'll stop shocking you and maybe I'll even go away."

I whip my tail back and forth, "Does it have to be right now? Can I sleep on it or something?"

She pouts and her tail droops and then she jumps up and smiles, "Fine, tomorrow we'll go!"

I sigh and stand up, "So how does this hallucination thing work? Do you just disappear or what?"

I glance at her and then turn to look at the room, figuring out how I could make another place to sleep if that's how this thing works.

I turn back to her, "So how- Where'd you go?"

Did she disappear or is she just fucking with me? I wait for a few minutes just standing there in the middle of the room.

The headache seems to be pretty much gone; maybe it only flares up when she shows up?

I sigh in relief when she doesn't come back and then exhaustion hits me full force.

I check the door to make sure it's locked and then I flip my boots and socks off before turning the light off.

Before I climb onto the bed I remove my borrowed pants, folding them perfectly (another bit of training) and place them on the dresser.

The bed is huge and comfy; I don't think I've ever had a bed this nice before.

As I snuggle under the covers I begin to wonder if I'll be able to fall asleep on something this cushy and the next thing I know I'm out like a light.


	13. Extreme Measures

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

There's a tish bit of gore in this one, so if you get queasy easily read at your own risk.

* * *

><p>A loud banging noise startles me out of sleep and I begin to panic as I fight with the tangled sheets. I finally get free and search for the source of the banging; the door on the side of my room, my bathroom door…<p>

I groggily walk over to it and unlock it. Opening it a crack I peek in and almost slam it shut at the sight of that damn girl from lunch.

She smiles and says, "Hey! Did I wake you?"

"Nope, I always walk around looking like this."

My sarcasm doesn't faze her and she holds up a blue shopping bag, "The girls and I asked Beast for your sizes and went around collecting some stuff for you to wear until we can get you to a mall."

I frown and then look down at my borrowed shirt and sigh.

I open the door and she walks in all bubbly and cheerful.

I glance at my hair in the mirror and with a quick little shift I fix it, so much faster than actually brushing it and it stays that way.

She watches me wide-eyed holding the bag in front her with both arms, "That is so awesome! You must never get a bad hair day!"

"Ever had to deal with blood and brain matter in your hair before?"

Her face pales and she looks down, her eyed eventually being drawn to my bare green legs, "Wow…"

I glance down and frown as I see the scars covering my legs, normally don't hide those; the only ones who ever see me stripped were the lab boys. I quickly fix that and cross my arms, looking at Kitty.

"So what kind of clothes did you bring?"

She immediately becomes all happy and bubbly again and bounces over to the bed, dumping out the contents of her bag onto it. I grimace at the bright colors and loud patterns.

I walk closer and watch her sort them out. There are lots of jeans, which I can live with, there are some undergarments (most are awful looking, but they still have tags on them so I can't complain) then there's the shirts and dear God… Mini-skirts?

Why would I ever wear a miniskirt? You can't fight in one of those and they show way too much skin…

After Kitty finishes she glances at me and notices my horrified look directed at the skirts, "I know they're not the latest and not in season but it's not a bad start."

I look down, collecting myself before forcing a smile and looking at her, "Thank you, I wouldn't want to go down to breakfast wearing the same stuff from yesterday."

She frowns, "Breakfast? You mean dinner, it's like four now. All the classes are done for the day. Well I mean except for the night classes, but well… Duh."

"Wow it's really that late?"

I put a hand to my head and realize my headache is gone. I turn and scan the room, looking for my hallucination, and then I sigh in relief when I don't see her.

I grin at Kitty and say, "Well thanks for the clothes but I really gotta get dressed and find Logan."

Suddenly she grabs my shoulders and sits my down on the bed, sitting next to me. She looks all serious and asks, "Is Wolverine really your dad?"

I freeze, mouth agape, staring at her. How did she find out? The only ones who knew were Logan, the Professor, and Beast.

She bounces and giggles, "I knew it! Jean heard it in Beast's head and told Cyclops who like totally flipped out on Wolverine."

Well there's my answer, "Why was Cyclops angry?"

She stops as if debating whether or not to tell me and then takes a deep breath. "Well according Jubes, who saw the fight, Cyclops said that Wolverine knew all along and it was his fault that the school was attacked. He said that Wolverine allowed them to let a born and raised killer into the school, putting all of our lives in danger. By the way we heard screaming downstairs yesterday, was that you?"

I sat there shocked from both the information and the fact that she did that all in one breathe.

"Cyclops is a prick so that's no surprise that even outside the facility he's got a stick up his ass. What did Logan do?"

She giggles at my views on Cyclops and then says, "He didn't do anything; he just walked away. Which is like unheard of; those two are always fighting."

I rub my knuckles nervously and say, "I really gotta get dressed and find him. And then I should probably talk to your Professor."

She nods, "The Prof is probably down in his office, but who knows where Wolverine is. He could be in his room, he could be in Japan. He never sticks around for very long."

I get up and she looks sad, but bounces up and says, "Well I hope the clothes fit right. Let me know when you're going to dinner and the girls and I will totally join you."

She walk back to the bathroom and stops on the door on the other side, "Welcome to the X-mansion."

As she slips into the adjoining room I close my door and lock it again.

.

Well this is a fucking disaster. I don't remember Cyclops being this adverse to me in the facility, but then again I was the one helping his ass stay alive. So much for gratitude…

I look through the clothes until I find a decent pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt for something called _Escape the Fate_; maybe a band or something…

I quickly change and then shift to my human form.

My human form… I guess you could describe me as demonic looking, just like Nightcrawler. I wonder if he was experimented on before I met him. It would explain the physical similarities…

I shrug to myself and then slip on my boots and walk out the door, leaving it unlocked. Hopefully I get that damn key today.

I head right next door to Logan's door, knocking on it. After a few tries with no answer I walk away, heading for the stairs.

Maybe he's outside? Or maybe downstairs?

I close my eyes and imagine that spot where I was yesterday in the woods and use Nightcrawler's powers to teleport.

I wave the smoke away and smile in relief as I realize I'm standing right in front of that stone wall.

Well that worked well, luckily I didn't go four feet further… I would've made a funky lookin' wall.

I should really practice that power more, it's quite helpful.

After the smoke dissipates enough I take a deep breath, pulling in all the scents I can from the surrounding area.

There are some other people I don't know wandering around and judging from the musky smell, one set of them is making out heavily.

I stalk through the trees, tracing this one faded scent of Logan. As it gets stronger I occasionally see deep claws marks in some tree trunks and the only thing I can think of is territory markings of a wild animal.

I finally come into a clearing wear the trees have been demolished, claw marks everywhere. I can smell his rage soaked into everything. This must be where he comes to vent?

I jump over tree logs and branches, searching for him, but his actual scent seems to have faded from this area as well. I begin hunting again, following his trail along the stone wall until it veers off back to the school.

Outside the tree line I notice a smaller building coming off from the mansion itself and judging by the large panel doors, it's a garage.

One of the doors was open and right in front of it was Logan, fitting some saddle bags on an amazing looking motorcycle, a modified up Ducati 1098s I believe (I've always loved motorcycles, just too bad Wraith never let me have one).

Just as I take a step forward to approach him, that damn headache flares and just like that, the girl is standing there, hands on her hips, tail waving, with anger scrunching up her little face.

"What now?"

"He's leaving! We can go see mommy!"

I glance back up at him; he does seem to be packed for a long trip.

"What the hell…"

He's just gunna leave me like that?

"Well if that bastard wants to leave without saying a word, then fuck him."

I turn to leave and she grabs my leg, digging her heels into the grass, "No! We need to go stop daddy! He can take us to mommy! Stop!"

She yanks on my pants and I yell out in pain as the electricity starts to flow again.

I drop to my hands and knees, "I swear I'm gunna kill you, you little shit!"

I look up and she's running towards Logan, yelling for me to follow.

I grit my teeth and punch the ground a couple times, leaving a nice, deep dent in the dirt.

I struggle to my feet and stagger towards Logan and the girl, twitching and jerking.

Just as my feet hit the concrete, Logan looks up and seeing the pain on my face he drops whatever he was doing and runs over.

"Kid, are you ok?"

He puts a hand on my shoulder and shouts, pulling back quickly, "How the hell did you set it off?"

I look down at the girl holding onto his black leather coat, "Fix it, now."

I can smell a bit of burning flesh and Logan calls out towards the mansion, "Hey! I need some help out here! Quick!"

She smiles and the pain stops, I double over, hands on my knees, panting from relief as my healing kicks in. I raise my head and snarl at her, "Do that again you little bitch and I'll find some way to rip you're fucking throat out, hallucination or not."

Logan hesitantly puts a hand on my back as I hear a couple people running up to us. I twitch again and then stand up straight, wincing a bit.

Looking at the girl I say to Logan, "She doesn't want you to leave us."

A sad pained look settles on his face, "I- I thought... Hell I dunno what I was thinkin'. You're still seeing a version of you as a kid?"

I nod, "Something got really fucked up yesterday and it's not because of a little headache."

"Are you guys ok?"

I turn to look at the two who ran over when Logan called. One was some girl I've never met before with short blond hair and the other was Iceman.

"I'm good now."

He looks hard at me, "Kim?"

I nod, "Nice to see you again."

He frowns and looks at Logan, "Well if you guys don't need me I'm going to go back inside."

And just like that he walks away stinking of anger and fear. The girl looks at Iceman and then back to Logan and me, confused.

She shrugs and says, "Have a good night guys."

She walks away, following Iceman.

"Well I seem to have just so many friends here…"

I look down at the girl, who smiles at me and before Logan can move I quickly snatch her up by the collar of her dress and as she struggles I look at Logan, "Where's the Professor? We're gunna get him to fix THIS."

I shake her and look at him who's looking at me like I'm insane.

He shakes his head, "Kim, there's nothing there. You just need sleep, kid."

I growl, "You know what? Fine! Don't believe me; just leave like you were planning to do. Because apparently dealing with all this shit is way too much for you."

I throw her as hard as I can towards the lawn and just walk away.

I shouldn't have stayed.

All this shit started happening cause I just HAD to know what was in those damn files. It's apparent that Logan doesn't want anything to do with me and the fact that I've killed people has made me some enemies already. And now I got this hallucination trying to roast me because of that bald fuck.

I'm just sick of this shit.

.

I find myself staring at these huge iron gates in the middle of the stone wall in the very front of the school.

I look back at the school and see a couple of kids standing on the steps leading towards the big double doors. They're just standing there staring at me, like I'm some form of entertainment for them.

I snarl and turn back around, grabbing the bars, getting ready to climb over. And as soon as my hands grip the bars the device in my neck kicks into overdrive.

I'm stuck there convulsing and I swear the metal is sparking.

As my hands turn black I scream out and throw myself backwards with all my strength.

Alright! FUCK THIS SHIT!

Ignoring the pieces of charcoaled flesh falling off my hands I sit up and pop my claws. Yelling in pain I quickly raise my hand up and slice the back of my neck deeply and then I plunge my burnt fingers into the searing flesh and as I grasp the little chunk of metal attached to my spine a cloud of smoke envelops me and I find myself down in the med lab.

I continue to grip to device and start pulling with my waning strength.

Something crashes behind me and people are yelling at me.

I can feel wires snapping as I rip it out and shout in triumph, bringing it around to stare at the bloody little mass.

The electricity stopped as soon as I pulled it out and I drop it and just sit there, feeling the blood poor down my neck and back.

"Kim?"

I look up, feeling the wound from my neck gush more blood.

I'm smoking, my skin is covered in burnt patches like back at the facility, and I'm sitting in a pool of blood.

Beast is looking down at me horrified, standing just outside the blood puddle.

"What happened?"

I open my mouth but my vocal chords are fried. I try and shrug, but my muscles refuse to move.

Beast looks behind me at someone else, "Are you alright?"

Something moves behind me, "Mien God, Kim what have you done to yourself?"

Ah, Nightcrawler, that explains the smoke. He must've gotten knocked on his ass from the electricity.

That little bitch made the current even stronger than anything Wraith did…

I stare at my hands when I see the darkened metal shining through under the black.

Well fuck… That's gunna be a bitch to heal…

.

She falls over on her side and I panic when I don't see her breathing.

I look up at the blue scientist, "Please tell me she's alright."

Herr Beast tentatively steps into the blood and puts a hand in front of her mouth, afraid to check her for a pulse.

He sighs and nods, "I believe she passed out from shock."

"How did that thing even turn on? Wraith is dead and we made sure the remote is destroyed…"

He shakes his head, "She has been a mystery from the beginning."

Shouts from the hall draw their attention and the door bursts open, Herr Logan stopping dead at the gory mess on the floor. Jean and the Professor follow and behind them a group of faces are fighting to catch a glimpse.

The Professor turns and says, "All of you go back to your rooms, now."

No one listens and he backs up, shutting the door on them.

Herr Logan just stands there shaking as Beast looks at Jean, "Can you lift her onto the operating table, we need to seal this wound, before she loses anymore blood and I don't want to physically move her."

She gulps and nods, lifting her hands, one to her head, one outstretched.

Kim's limp body begins to float through the air and Beat motions to which table to put her on.

"I remember her reabsorbing her blood last time Wraith hurt her badly."

Beast shakes his head, "At the moment her healing factor is so overwhelmed that by the time it gets around to that it will be coagulated. I need to get this sewn together and then get her hands cleaned and wrapped."

"What can I do?"

Beast shakes his head, "At the moment, please stay out of my way. Jean I could use your assistance if you're willing to put you're medical training to practice."

I look at the red-haired woman as she nods and skirts around the blood. The professor rolls up next to Herr Logan who seems as if he's made of stone, unmoving and not saying a word.

He puts a hand on the gruff man's arm, "Logan we need to talk. I need you to explain to me what happened, I could not enter her mind and so I am at a loss for information."

I look down at myself and see the darkening blood soaking into my pants and shirt, matting my fur. I glance at Herr Beast, moving quickly around the table with various different tools.

"Logan."

He finally moves, turning to look at the man in the wheelchair beside him.

"Logan, come speak with me. Hank has this under control."

Herr Logan nods and slowly follows the Professor out the door, through the crowd of students, curious and concerned with the events that just transpired.

A lot of the students in the mansion saw it out the windows and those who didn't see have already heard about it.

I look around for anything to use for cleaning and inside the bathroom I find some black towels that I wet slightly.

I kneel down on the floor cleaning up the red liquid, trying to be helpful in any way I can. As I finish cleaning up the last of the blood, Herr Beast steps back, sighing. I watch as he rolls the table behind a curtain and hands a medical gown to Jean.

He smiles over at me, "Thank you for cleaning that, my boy. You should go wash yourself up, don't worry about Kim. As we have already seen, she can handle quite a lot of punishment. I'll call you as soon as she wakes up."

I nod, tossing the towels into the nearest trashcan marked for hazards.

"I'll be right back, but I'll wait outside."

Herr Beast smiles and then turns his attention back to the two behind the curtain.

I teleport to my room, hurrying to clean myself so I can return to make sure Kim is ok.

.

Something pressing on my chest brings me back to consciousness.

I slowly open my eyes, noting the odd lack of pain.

I immediately sit up snarling as I see the little bitch sitting on my chest.

She disappears and reappears on the end of the bed, grinning.

I raise my hand, popping my claws, threatening her. As I do I catch site of white bandages on my hand, it hasn't healed yet?

I use my claws to cut it the wrapping off and grimace at the sight.

Shiny, bone-shaped adamantium gleams under the muscles and veins crawling up each finger.

Well isn't that a bitch. Why don't I feel the pain?

I look around, getting déjà vu as I find myself lying in the med lab bed with a gown on, attached to machines and an IV drip stuck in the crook of my arm.

I reach up and touch the back of my neck, feeling stitches with what nerves are on my fingers.

I grin at her, flashing my sharp, metal teeth at her, "What're you gunna do now? That thing ain't in my neck anymore."

She shrugs and cocks her head, returning my grin, "Feeling a little weak?"

I look at her confused, "Nothing new when having to heal this much. Why?"

She giggles and leans in and whispers, "Shh… Daddy will be back any minute. We don't want you ruining it. I'm going to get him to take us to mommy."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She waves at me, "Bye."

I frown and then shake my head as I begin to feel like I'm drowning. Like my head is being pushed underwater and I can't come up for air. I struggle with the feeling until everything goes dark.


	14. Reliving The Past

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Logan, Beast, and the Professor all enter the room after discussing the recent events.<p>

The first to notice Kim was Logan, stopping and sniffing the air. Confused by what his senses were telling him.

Beast is the second to spot her, "Oh my stars and garters."

The little girl in Kim's bed giggles and drops to the ground, her bare feet slapping against the steel as she runs up and hugs Logan.

He raises his arms and looks at her at a loss for words.

"Hi Daddy!"

She stares up at him with big green cat's eyes, her black furry tail waving merrily under her white dress.

Xavier was the first to regain his composure, "And who might you be, my dear?"

The little girl peeks around Logan's legs and smiles at him, "My name is Kim! Kimberley Elizabeth Howlett!"

Logan gently peels the girl away from him and stares at her. He drops to his knees and pulls the girl to him, shaking as tears roll down his face.

She hugs him tightly, "I missed you daddy."

Eventually Logan pulls back and stares at his child, moving her long black hair back out of her face.

Xavier waits patiently for the two to finish and as Logan begins to regain his composure he asks the child, "May I ask where the older Kimberley went?"

She pouts, "I'm here now; she went away."

He stares at her intently, "Where did she _go_ exactly?"

Beast and Logan look at the Professor, confused.

She crosses her arms, "She went _away_! I'm here now! She wouldn't listen to me, so I made her go away."

Logan looks back and forth at Kim and Xavier, "What's going on Chuck? This is Kim; this is my kid, isn't it?"

Xavier nods, "Yes, but this isn't the same Kim who was just here a few minutes ago. I can read her mind now and it would seem that the alter ego that was plaguing her earlier has now taken full control."

She stomps her little feet, "She wouldn't take us to see mommy! But you will, right Daddy?"

Logan quickly stands up, "I didn't believe her…"

Xavier nods understandingly, "Kim's mental barriers were repaired and so I could not see what had happened. I seem to have been the catalyst that brought her alter-ego into existence, when I tried to help her pain yesterday afternoon."

Logan runs a hand through his hair, "Shit, Chuck; she never catches a break."

He looks down at the little girl that's looking up at him lovingly, "What's the matter Daddy?"

Xavier rolls forward a bit, "We need you to return Kimberley back to her previous state."

She shakes her head, "I'm in charge now. I asked her nicely and then I used the shocky thing the bad man used and she still wouldn't listen. I just wanna go home and help mommy. We left her and she needs help."

Logan balls up his hands and growls, but Xavier holds up a hand, stopping him from saying or doing anything.

"Kim has already explained to you that your mother has passed away and-"

She shakes her head, "Liar! Mommy is just hurt and she needs our help."

She looks up at Logan, "Why aren't you helping mommy? She tried to help you and you wouldn't wake up. Bad men hurt mommy and me and you wouldn't wake up. Uncle Vic got angry but they hurt him too."

Logan's anger leaves him in a deep sigh as he sits down on one of the chairs Beast has scattered throughout the lab.

Xavier watches Logan sadly and then turns his attention back to the small child in front of him.

"If we take you to your mother, would you agree to let our Kim regain control?"

Her face lights up, "You're gunna take me to see mommy?"

Logan was about to argue, but a knowing look from Xavier stops him.

"Only if you agree to that condition."

She jumps up and down and says, "Anything to see mommy!"

Xavier looks at Logan who's completely lost, "Now if you would take your daughter back upstairs to her room, I'll have Kurt bring you both some dinner. Once she's asleep you can come speak with me."

Logan looks between Xavier and the child, at a loss for words.

Beast leans down and smiles at the child, "Is that all right with you dear?"

She steps away from him, uncomfortable with his appearance and whispers, "I want to stay with Daddy…"

Beast seeing her reaction smiles again and stands up, subtly taking a few steps back, "That's the plan, you're Daddy is gunna take care of you until it's bed time."

She walks over and grabs Logan's hand, "Come on Daddy let's go."

He smiles sweetly at her, a sight to remember for anyone who knows the fearsome Wolverine. He stands up and they walk hand in hand out the door, past the handful of people who refused to leave, even after he had snarled at them.

They all watched in complete shock at the strange duo and then started excitedly talking amongst themselves.

Beast straightens his lab coat and says, "So how are we going to fix this Charles? Her mother is deceased…"

Xavier sighs, "I am well aware of that and I think the child is too, but seeing as she is a child she refuses to believe it."

Beast nods, "So how exactly did Kim form this alter-ego?"

"Yesterday when we showed Kimberley the information in her file, she began to form a severe headache due to the fact that her repressed memories and false, implanted memories were at war with one another. So once she discovered that Logan was indeed her father the pain became too unbearable for her and so I entered her mind to alleviate it. That process seemed to separate a chunk of the false memories based around her childhood and produce them in the form you just saw."

Beast frowns at the information, "And so after torturing Kim, the child eventually just took over?"

Xavier nods his head, a sad look crossing his face, "The child knew that Kimberley did not like the pain that the device caused and so she manipulated the nerves around it to cause it to activate."

"I examined the device and it would seem that it had malfunction and that's why it was exponentially worse than the times when Wraith used it on her. As well as the fact that it was in conjunction with holding on to the gate…"

Xavier frowns, putting a hand to his head, "That poor child has been through so much. When I aided her I caught a glimpse of some of the events that happened in her past. Mutant or not, no one, especially a child, should be put through that…"

Beast puts a large hand on Xavier's shoulder, "At least we stopped them."

Xavier shakes his head, "There will be more, it pains me to say it, but there will always be someone else out there willing to use another human being like a slave for their own purposes."

The two men sit there discussing Xavier's plan and the help that they will have to enlist for it to work.

.

The next afternoon Xavier, Logan, Kim, Nightcrawler, and Cyclops are all in the Blackbird; the X-men's private stealth jet.

The adults were all trying to hide their dissatisfaction with the events that were about to play out.

Logan was having an especially hard time trying to hide it, but the thought of losing his child as well as Xavier's plan had him quite upset.

Kim on the other hand was happy as clam, ignoring the adults that told her to sit down and remain the seat belt telling them flat out, "If the plane crashes Daddy and I won't get hurt."

She had grown attached to Jean, but she refused to even look at Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler had demanded to come along, after being explained everything; worried for his friend.

He was the best at hiding his feelings, but they all knew it hurt when she pulled away from him, near tears saying, "Daddy! The monster is trying to get me!"

Nightcrawler had tried to calm her, "But kleine, it is me, Kurt Wagner…"

After that she had completely avoided him and he did not press it further.

Cyclops was the one flying the jet and he was the least happy about being here. He didn't even try to hide his anger towards Kim, even if she was just a child. If it wasn't for Xavier holding him back and Logan threatening to kill him, he would've thrown the girl out the jet while thousands of feet in the air.

Thankfully, for everyone's sake, it was a short trip from their institute in New York and the location of the cabin in Alberta, Canada. Xavier had brought along the files from which he had cross referenced the cabin's location.

The jet eventually lands and Logan has to hold on to the little girl in order to keep her from running down the ramp before everything was ready.

Xavier and Cyclops exit the jet and head through the trees to the run down cabin.

The exterior was still intact but the windows were broken and the roof looked like it was about collapse. They could tell that it had not been touched for a very long time, but evidence that someone had lived here long ago was still present.

A small rusted pink tricycle was lying on its side near the front of the cabin and there were remnants of what looked like a clothes line. And then carved into the wood near the front door was a heart with the initials J.H. + K.M.H. in it and off from that was another smaller heart was linked into it with the initials K.E.H.

It was a sight that Xavier knew would upset Logan and probably revive more of his lost memories that the child half of Kimberley was unknowingly helping him with.

The tall grass and bushes impeded the wheelchair slightly as Cyclops helped roll Xavier to the specified meeting spot.

As they stopped a few figures stepped out of the trees, walking straight for them.

An older man with gray hair dressed in a classy black suit and a woman with indigo skin and vibrant red hair who was wearing nothing at all both walk up to Xavier and Cyclops.

Xavier smiles at the other man and holds out a hand, "Erik, thank you for coming today. I know you have a prior engagement you need to get to and when you do please extend my apologies to Wanda and Pietro for interrupting their celebration."

Erik takes the offered hand, "It isn't a problem Charles and to be honest I came here more out of curiosity than anything. I am interested in meeting this mutant that you rescued from that abominable institute. From what my children and my associate have told me about her she could be a valuable addition to the Brotherhood."

"Now Erik, we don't plan on letting her leave the school until see has fully recovered from all her trauma and I highly doubt she would join you seeing as her father is with us."

Erik chuckles, "I'll humor you for now Charles. Now what is it you need Mystique for exactly?"

"Well it would seem that Kimberley's repressed memories developed an alter ego that has now taken over her body as a small child. She has been demanding to see her mother and only then will she release Kimberley's main personality. I have tried everything to pry control from her, but she refuses to budge."

Erik raises an eyebrow at that, "She was able to hold her own against your abilities?"

Xavier nods and puts the tip of his fingers together before continuing, "This is where we require Mystique's assistance, we need a highly skilled shape shifter who would be able to become her mother and act like her for a short time until she agrees to relinquish control back to Kimberley."

Mystiques smiles, "Simple enough, just give me an image of her and maybe some things to say to make it believable. How old is she, I mean the child ego?"

Xavier hands her a photograph from one of the files he help on his lap, "Four we believe and from Logan has been able to remember they used to cal her Kitten as a nickname."

Mystique studies the picture and nods, "This should do, I'll go sit on the steps of the shack and you go get the kid."

She eyes the rotting cabin with disdain and walks over to it; her skin flowing and rippling down her body as she shifts into the woman in the photo.

Cyclops rolls the professor back to the Blackbird and Xavier psychically informs Logan that everything is set.

.

I growl and stand up, keeping a firm hold on Kim's hand.

She just wanted to bolt and go find her mother herself, but luckily I convinced her that the Professor needed to speak with her first.

She whined but she listened, turning to playing with her little claws, still confused as to why they looked different.

I don't like this one bit, having to ask metal head and his blue bitch to help us out.

I almost don't even want to fix Kim... It's fucked up but I KNOW this version of her, that moment in the lab brought some of those memories rushing back.

I run my free hand through my hair and say, "Come on, Kitten, let's go see your mom. I'm sure she's worried about us."

She pauses and looks up worried at me, "You don't think she'll be mad that we left her when she was hurt, do you?"

I shake my head and she grins and then starts to pull me down the ramp. It feels like I've swallowed my heart because she's running to see a woman who's been dead for over a decade. My wife…

When we step into the familiar woods she squirms free and bolts towards our old cabin.

I trudge behind, kicking at the dead leaves, waiting for a scream of fear of squeal of delight.

As I step into the clearing I frown at crumbling building that I had built forever ago and then look around at the vegetation that had reclaimed the area.

The smell of sadness reaches my nose and I quickly walk towards the cabin looking for Kim.

On the porch steps I find her in an embrace with an exact mirror of Kat. I dig my fingernails into my palm to stop the damn tears that seem to be free flowing since I saw my Kitten…

Mystique looks down at my little girl and smiles sadly at her, "Hello, Kitten."

I growl at that and watch as Kim smiles up at her, "Sorry, we've been gone so long mommy. The bad men came and then no one would help you, but I told them we had to come back."

Mystique pats her on the head, "And I'm glad you did, Kitten. Now let's go talk to your friend Mr. Xavier."

Kim pulls away and frowns, "Can't we play a little first mommy?"

She runs around Mystique to the door of the cabin and struggles with it before she notices a rusty old padlock on it.

"Why did you lock up the house, mommy?"

Mystique glances at me a hint of annoyance in her face, I shrug. "Come on Kitten; let's do as your… mother says."

Kim looks at me and then pops her little claws and chops off the lock. She pushes the door open and dust flies out at her.

I step forward, curious as to what my old home looks like from the inside now.

Kim squeals with delight and bolts into the cabin.

Mystique sighs, "Alright, Kitten, come on... The house is old and it's not safe to be in there."

After a few moments of silence, she emerges holding something.

She holds up so Mystique can see, it's a dust covered, stuffed tiger.

"Look mommy! I found my tiger that Uncle Vic gave me."

Mystique looks over at me, "Uncle Vic? As in Saber-"

"Unfortunately, yes. He's _your_ brother."

I was pissed when I found out that son of a bitch had been my brother in-law.

She looks at the tiger and suppresses a laugh, finding it amusing that the big bad Sabertooth had once been a big softy.

Kim hugs the tiger and says sadly, "I'll go talk to the Professor now, but first can you and daddy make me fly, like you used to?"

Mystique looks at me questioningly and I nod. I walk over and stand next to them, with Kim in the middle. We both grab one of her little hands and lift her off of the ground and begin to swing her as high as we can without hurting her.

She giggles and squeals and once we put her down I kneel down and ask, "How 'bout a piggy back ride?"

She smiles, her whole face lighting up and jumps up on my back, still gripping her tiger tightly.

I stand and we walk over to where Xavier had agreed to wait.

Smells like the metal head is waiting here too…

We step into the clearing and Kim asked to be put down.

She walks over to Xavier and frowns, "I made a deal, thank you for letting me see my mommy again."

Xavier smiles sadly, "You're are welcome, I'm sorry that this whole situation had to occur."

Kim grins, "I'm not, the other me needed a dose of childhood, she's had to be an adult too much."

I keep forgetting that she's not really a little girl and when she spouts logic like that it's like a cold shock.

She looks over her shoulder at Mystique, still in the form as her mother, "Thank you for pretending."

Mystique's jaw drops, she's completely at a loss for words.

I smile; that's my girl. She suddenly looks up, sniffing towards the trees.

In the distance I can hear a deep man's voice saying, "Make we wait in the damn plane, fuck that shit. I'm bored and I smell the runt. I wanna pay him back for that little swim at the facility."

Sabertooth steps into the clearing, dressed in a nice black Armani, with his hair tied back and stops dead at the sight of us.

Magneto sighs in annoyance, "I do believe I requested that you stay in the plane while Mystique and I conduct business."

Kim runs at him saying "Uncle Vic!"

She hugs his legs and he growls, raising his clawed hands to swipe at her.

I pop my claws and say, "You touch a hair on her head, you'll regret it Creed!"

He laughs and then she shows him the tiger she's been carrying around, "Look Uncle Vic! I still have the tiger you gave me!"

He stops dead, staring at the toy and then down at Kim, a completely different expression on his face.

I retract my claws and look at Xavier, "You didn't plan this one too did you?"

He refuses to look at me and just watches the scene play out before us.

Creed takes the tiger and then looks at Kim, confused, "Kitten?"

Her face lights up again and she hugs him, he looks down at her not sure what to do. Glancing up at us he sees Magneto trying to hide his amusement and Mystique still as Katherine and me, waiting to rip his head off.

He growls and says, "I don't know what the fuck this is, but I don't think this is funny. It's not smart to fuck around with my head."

Kim looks up at him, cocking her head and smiling, "But Uncle Vic, don't you remember? You betrayed us. You got mommy hurt, your own sister."

"What? I didn't do shit to- oh…"

Now the bastard remembers…

Kim nods, "You gave us away to the bad men. Why?"

Creed shakes his head, "You weren't supposed to be taken. They found out about you guys and I made them swear that they would at least let me take you. They were the ones who betrayed me."

He looks up at me and Mystique, "Kat wasn't supposed to get hurt, I mean I expected there to be a fight and I hoped that you might have gotten out of there, but they weren't supposed to hurt you too seriously…"

Kim laughs and her body shifts back to her adult green self and from the look of it, she's furious.


	15. What Else Is There?

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>I snarl as I finally get my body back under control, the child me fading and merging back with the rest of my mind.<p>

"You're first fault was that you trusted a bunch of fucking humans!"

Creed steps back, dropping the stuffed tiger, his body tensing for a fight.

"The second was thinking that you could have gotten away with it. That old man was right, why would I ever have forgiven you?"

I unsheathe my claws, "You betrayed us you bastard! Now look at me! I'm a fucking monster because of you!"

My rage kicks in and I'm out for blood, I charge at him and right before my claws slice through his raised arms; I stop moving.

I can move my eyes and nose, but it's like my skeleton just locked up and refuses to budge.

Creed looks at me sadly, with that same damn look he would always give me back at the facility.

He knew he was guilty even if he couldn't remember it.

He turns his attention to the strange gray-haired man who was standing next to Xavier.

He looks back at me grinning, "I'm sorry, Kitten, but too much has happened since then. I ain't gunna say sorry for hurtin' ya either, cause that was too much fun, but part of me still loves ya, now that I remember ya; if that makes ya feel any better."

I snarl again, struggling against whatever is holding me back.

That bastard is just smiling? After all that he's done to me and he's just gunna smile at me like that?

Xavier's voice pops into my head and says, "_Kim, you need to curb this anger and bloodlust._"

"Get the fuck outta my head!"

The older man walks into my view and says, "You are quite the vicious one aren't you?"

I try to move something, an arm a finger, anything, but no luck. "Who the fuck are you?"

"You may call me Magneto and there's no use struggling. You're adamantium skeleton is under my control."

"Magneto? So your mutation has something to magnetism then, right?"

He nods, smiling calmly. I grin, flashing him my metal teeth and slowly begin moving my entire body.

I copy his powers and reverse my polarity and then flare my hand out towards Magneto. He flies backward, reacting like two magnets with the same polarity facing each other.

The woman who was pretending to be my mother runs to him and I return my attention to Creed.

"Can't fight me unless I'm chained up somehow huh?"

I charge at him again he dodges, snarling at my attack. He charges, slicing my arm. The pain just pisses me off more and I jump over and behind him, turning to ram both sets of claws right into his back, scraping them against ribs.

He roars out in pain and I grin, twisting my fists, reveling in the smell and sight of his blood.

Someone yanks me backwards, pulling my claws out.

Creed drops to the ground, panting and choking as blood fills his lungs up before healing.

I turn to spot the woman who was still pretending to be my mother, "My fight is not with you."

Her skin ripples and becomes dark blue; her eyes become a glowing yellow and her hair a vibrant red.

She glances at my Uncle who is still on the ground, "As much as I would like to see him receive an ass whooping from a little girl, we require him in top condition at all times."

I stare at her and then turn back to Creed, shaking in an attempt to contain my anger, "I don't ever want to see you again. You deserve so much more pain than that little scratch. I hope you rot in hell…"

I walk over to Logan, Xavier, and Cyclops struggling to not turn around and gut the bastard and string him up by his intestines.

My rage still hasn't faded and I feel like I just need to kill something. I guess I never noticed how much Wraith's little missions helped me curb my natural instincts…

As I come upon them I spot the files that Xavier held in his lap. I growl and hold out my hand, expecting him to just read my mind. He nods and hands me Sabertooth's file.

I turn around watch Creed get to his feet, the wounds already fully healed.

"I was just gunna torch this, but you know what? I'm gunna give it to you, just so you can understand how much you fucked up and how much you actually lost."

I toss it on the ground towards him and the other two.

He looks at me pissed and sad, but doesn't say a word. If he had I probably would have gone off on him again.

I look at Magneto, whose suit was ripped from me tossing him, "Thank you for your assistance, I apologize for tossing you, but next time… don't fuck with me."

He smirks and nods, "I underestimated your abilities. I would like to talk to again sometime. My cause could use a mutant like you."

"Erik…" Xavier made that sound like a warning.

Magneto smiles, "I know your feelings Charles, but from that little display earlier, I now know some of hers as well."

I frown and lash my tail, "I'll be back…"

.

I walk away from them, my hands itching to hurt something.

I can hear someone following and I turn to see Logan, "What do you want?"

Logan crosses his arms and stares at me, "You're not going to try leaving again are you?"

"No, I just need to calm down, unless you want me go back there and start carving that son of a bitch into tiny pieces?"

I slam my fist into a tree trunk, shaking from the pent up anger.

"This was so much easier when I was on the Doc's meds…"

"What meds?"

"Some of the shit they made me take every month curbed my animal side. They figured out quick that is wasn't easy to get me to stop once I was like this."

Logan sighs, "I use the Danger Room sessions and I go hunting every so often to keep myself in check."

"I used to kill people and most of the time… I liked doing it."

I walk further into the trees with Logan right behind.

This is almost worse than being in the facility; at least there I didn't have all this shit hanging over my head.

I found out Wolverine is my father, my mother is dead, my Uncle is the man who betrayed me and helped torture me for the past decade, I had a split personality that took over my body, and now I gotta find new ways to keep sane.

It's not like I didn't already know that I was a feral, Cornelius explained that part to me quite well, hence the enhanced animal-like senses and behavior.

I never even thought about what would happen if I stopped taking all the pills and injections Cornelius made me take. For all I know the meds could have been what keeping the effects of the radiation and experimentation at bay as well…

I keep walking until all my anger fades and once it's gone I just stop.

I lean against a tree and slide down until I'm sitting on the ground; glad at the fact that the rage disappeared without me killing anything or anyone.

Logan pauses at nearby tree and waits.

"What are we gunna do now?"

Logan shrugs, "Head back to the school, I guess. What else is there?"

I look up through the trees towards our old home, "I guess there isn't anything left for us here is there?"

He follows my gaze, solemnly.

I lean my head against the tree, "I guess I can put up with the school for a while, but at the first sign of me either going bat-shit or if my mutation takes a turn for the worst I want you to find any way possible to take me out. I don't give a shit if you're my dad or not, you're the only one who could probably do it."

Logan goes to argue and I cut him off, "Please don't make me have to turn to Creed for something like that."

He frowns and nods and I sigh.

"I wonder what it would have been like if she was still alive and we were never taken."

I think about it for a minute and then laugh, "I just can't picture us sitting around a table eating peacefully. Grr! Pass the potatoes."

He grins, "Fuck off, get 'em yourself."

We laugh and he says, "You ready to get out of this nightmare, kiddo?"

I stand up and we follow the scents back to the Blackbird.

.

As soon as I walk up the ramp Nightcrawler jumps up and runs over to hug me.

I pat him awkwardly on the back and eventually he lets go.

"I was so worried about you, fraulien! When the Professor told me about Sabertooth being there and you walking away… I didn't think you were coming back this time."

I frown glancing over at the crippled man and then back to Nightcrawler, "Yeah, well I guess I'm sticking around for a while. No more hallucinations or getting fried either."

He grins from ear to ear, "I'm glad you're staying! And for the record you were a very cute and very truthful child."

I smirk, remembering when she had been scared of him, calling him a monster.

And then remembering something I look at Logan who was closing the ramp up, "Oh, and if you EVER call me Kitten, I swear I'll run around like a child for a week, throwing temper tantrums at every chance I get."

Cyclops clears his throat, "If you're all done catching up, some of us have some useful and productive things to do back at the mansion, that doesn't require murdering someone."

I go to say something but a glance from Xavier stops me.

I just growl menacingly and sit down in one of the seats, farthest from his ass.

Nightcrawler sits right next to me and starts chattering away about the other day, when I had gouged out my neck to get to that damn device.

He was telling me how the entire student body had heard about it or seen it and when he saw it happening out the study window he knew that the first thing I needed was medical attention.

I try to keep listening but I doze off, exhausted from all the shit that's happened.


	16. Presents!

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>I look away from what I'm doing; stretching my arms and back and readjusting my eyes.<p>

I look back down at the small device covered in soldered wires and lenses; my pet project since that whole thing at the cabin.

I turn to look at the older Native American mutant sitting next to me, "How's it looking Forge?"

Forge leans over the device checking my work, "You mixed a couple wires but other than that, pretty good."

I frown at the mess in front of me, "Told you I wasn't any good at this…"

"You were the one who wanted to say that you made it. Here let me fix it for you and we can keep going."

I sigh and slide my chair over so he can get at it easier.

I'm not technologically inclined unlike Forge, but then again his mutation helps him with that.

Give me any sort of gun and I can have it apart and back together in seconds, but ask me to wire up anything and I'll be at a loss.

I can't even defuse a bomb without someone guiding me or schematics of it at least. Hell I don't even know how to wire a light socket…

But that's why I'm having Forge teach me as we go.

Since we all got back I've been avoiding as many people as possible, which is how I discovered Forge's tech lab.

.

The day after we got back I was sneaking around and found this room in a corner of the basement level.

It was a tech lab, used to develop equipment for the mutants like Cyclops' visor as well as upgrades for the Blackbird.

I soon discovered that an older mutant named Forge kept his room right off of it.

He's a black-haired, Native American guy in his 30's and he has an affinity for technology, he was the one who developed the entire security system for the institute, he pretty much designed the Blackbird and he also made himself a robotic leg and hand to replace the ones he lost in some accident.

Seeing as how I was trying to come up with something to keep me preoccupied while Logan taught his classes I figured I'd ask and see if Forge would help me with a couple ideas I had and he whole heartedly agreed and so we got to work.

It took Logan a whole day to find me down here and when he did he was stunned when he saw me and Forge working together.

Forge is great company, he never asks any personal questions, he didn't flinch when he saw my green form, and he plays amazing music on his radio.

I've heard music before mainly the classical the lab boys played or the older rock that the guards played, but I've never listened to anything harder.

Forge is a big fan of metal and hard rock and when he first played it for me I was entranced; it sounded like the songs were filled rage or hatred, but the lyrics would sometimes be very deep and pretty.

Now whenever we're down here working, I make him play his music.

I glance over in the corner of the bright room, over the tables covered in metal, wires, and magnifying glasses, at our first finished project.

It's a new 'wheel' chair for Xavier, modified to make him a little more mobile.

We made an electrical hover chair; its seat like a kayak's where you slip in and slide your legs out in front of you. Of course it's much more compact and physically similar to a chair than a kayak. The controls are a small panel near where is right hand would be and we even put a little boost ability in it for emergencies.

We even painted it steel gray and gave it a red and black X symbol on one side.

Forge was all for making it and said he didn't know he hadn't thought of making one sooner.

The second project is one he's been taking notes on so he could build a complete duplicate if need be.

I designed what Forge described as an image inducer, it's a small device that a person would wear like a watch and when turned on it would project a pre-programmed image around the person.

So if there was a mutant with a physical deformity who couldn't hide their appearance, wearing this could give them the appearance of a normal human.

When I had asked him about whether it was possible or not to build, he looked at me funny and asked me who the intended recipient was.

I shrugged saying I wasn't sure and he just smiled. What was I supposed to say? I wanted to help out a friend, so he didn't look like a freak all the time?

I just wanted to repay the kindness I've received since I've been here…

He glances up at me, "Ready? We just got to get the connection to the image projector to work properly and then we'll add the micro power supply and then we should be able to seal it up and I'll set up the programming for you."

Only half comprehending what he said, I nod and slide back over as he being to coach me on what wire needs to go where and where to place the other tiny components.

.

I'm actually kind of shocked that everyone has pretty much left me alone.

Logan and Nightcrawler come down here only to bring me food because I refuse to go back to the dining hall and possibly run into some nosy, questioning kid.

But other than that it's just been me and Forge down here.

I have been meaning to talk to Beast though. Ever since what happened at the cabin I have been wondering if anything bad will happen now that I'm off Cornelius' drugs.

I haven't felt any different but it's better to be safe than sorry. I keep getting this feeling like something bad is going to happen, but I think that's because this place is so dull.

Back at the facility I was always on edge; ready for Wraith to pop up with a mission or start beating me. Now that I don't have to worry as much, it's gotten almost boring here, in comparison.

I don't know what to do with myself now; I went from constant action to having nothing to do at all…

Once I get done with this little project I think I may talk to Logan about their little team. Maybe I could help them out or something.

I'm sure Cyclops would be all for that idea… Heh… It'd be fun just to piss him off.

I also need to talk to Logan about getting me clothes.

Yeah I know I'm a shape shifter, but in my green form I don't have the guts to walk around naked like that blue chick from the cabin. And my clothes would start to smell eventually anyways.

I always had to beg to be allowed to wash my black uniform back at the facility. One of Wraith's guys always had to guard me and he would stare as I stripped down naked. It was awkward, but they knew if they tried anything they would end up a bloody mess splattered throughout the room, like the one guy who did.

His name was Carter, Lyle Carter. He and his buddies had got drunk one night and they convinced him that I was an easy piece of ass, as long as you held me at gunpoint. He got in my cell while I was asleep, put the gun to my head and put a hand on my breast.

That was the last thing he did before I was up, cutting his dick off and gutting him like a deer.

He made two mistakes; startling me awake and then thinking he could touch me.

I was beaten severely for that, but none of the goons came in my cell after lights out again.

Thankfully Wraith never even thought about hurting me that way. Doing anything with a mutie disgusted him, just like anyone with a skin color other than white.

I was surprised when he let Storm be, being both a mutie and African American. The last one that came in was beaten and then taken outside and shot execution style.

That racist bastard didn't give a shit if he was useful or not, he just wanted him disposed of as soon as possible.

I'm so glad that sick bastard is dead, but I definitely did not hurt him enough…

.

After a few days Forge and I were finally finished.

I wanted to surprise Xavier and Nightcrawler, so I convinced Forge to set off the fire alarm for the tech lab.

Within minutes the entire X-Men team had showed up, looking around wildly for a fire; Iceman was ready to put it out.

I'm sitting on one of the metal tables with Forge near me, waiting for them to realize that there isn't any fire. As they did, their attention fell on me and Forge and I smiled innocently at them.

As soon as Cyclops and Iceman spotted me and saw my grin, they glared at me and stormed out.

Logan crosses his arms, "What are you two doing?"

I glance over at Xavier who is starting to look a little agitated, "The fire alarm is not a toy, I'm surprised that you would condone this Forge."

Forge raises an eyebrow at me and I hop off the table, "Forge and I have a surprise for you."

Forge holds up his hands defensively, "Hey this was all her idea; I just helped her a bit."

Xavier looks at me intrigued as Jean, Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler all look at each other confused and shocked.

I walk over to the tarp covered hover chair and with a mock flourish I yank it off.

"You pulled the alarm for a chair, kid?"

I glare at Logan, "It's not just a chair…"

This is the most attention I've had since the gate incident and he's not helping me at all. I think this is the first real gift I've given; I don't normally thank people so I had to work up a lot of nerve for this.

Forge helps me out, "We developed an electronic hover chair with built in propulsion. It'll help out with missions and travel in general."

Xavier smiles at me, "Well that is quite the gift!"

I rub the back of my neck, "Well I saw how hard it was to maneuver in the woods back at the cabin and I kinda wanted to say thank you for helping me out and all…"

The others are all looking at me like I've grown a second head.

"I'm not technologically inclined, so Forge helped me out a lot."

Another alarm sounds, a much different than the fire alarm and I look at Logan questioningly.

He frowns, "Looks like we got us a trouble maker."

Xavier turns to roll out of the room and then stops and glances back at me, "Thank you very much for the gift, Kim. I will have to try it out later though."

I watch as the X-Men all run out, leaving me, Nightcrawler, and Forge.

"What just happened?"

Nightcrawler teleports, or 'bamfs' as he has taken to calling it thanks to Kitty, closer to us and says, "That alarm means that they are needed for a mission. The Professor's computer has picked on some emergency news reports or maybe a new, potentially dangerous, mutant's power emerging."

"So they go out and stop the bad guys and save people huh?"

Forge nods, "That's what we do; we help those who can't help themselves. We show others that mutants aren't people to fear. There are mutants who like to believe that we are the superior race and deserve to be treated as such."

Nightcrawler frowns, "You met one of the mutants who fight for that cause, Magneto."

"The magnet guy?"

He nods, "He recruits mutants who hate humans or are afraid of them. Telling them that humans just want to hurt them, lock them away, and then treat them like slaves or worse. Then there are mutants who join his cause because they like hurting people. Your unc- I mean Sabertooth for example."

"Well I can tell you from experience he's right. Human's are more like monsters than we are."

"You cannot let a few people who have harmed you lead you to condemn a whole race. God made us all equal."

I go to retort, but I remember the other gift I have.

"Oh! I forgot! I have something for you too."

His face lights up, "You made me something as well?"

I nod and pull the watch-like device out of my pocket.

"It's called an image inducer. Here."

I grab his wrist and put it on him. I twist the face and press a couple small buttons and the hologram flashes to life.

I grin at Forge as it works flawlessly.

He looks exactly like himself, but with white skin, instead of blue fur, and black hair, and blue eyes and no tail.

Forge wonders off and comes back with a mirror, handing it to Nightcrawler. He looks in it and his eyes go wide.

"Mein Gott! I look- But how- What-"

I laugh, "It projects a hologram around your body to make you look normal. To help you blend in better than your trench coat and big hat. You can change the looks too, so if someone spots you like that then you can make a quick change."

Forge presses the buttons in a different combination, "I can program only five different looks in here at a time, so if you want to change them up let me know and we can make a new one for you. You just have to make sure you don't let anyone touch or else they'll realize you don't have five fingers and normal skin. And Kim suggested you keep your tail wrapped around you leg so that doesn't give you away either."

He looks himself over and then grins at me, "This is wunderbar! Thank you so much, Kim!"

He hugs me tightly and I just stand there and wait for him to let go.

When he does I smile and shrug my shoulders, "It was just a little idea I had, seeing as how not all of us muties can change shape."

I glance over at Forge, "Well… Thanks for all your help on this stuff. I think I'm going to try out the danger room seeing how nobody else is here to use it."

Forge nods, "Have fun, kid."

Nightcrawler looks at me then at forge, then at his new toy, "I think I should stay here and learn how this thing works. But I'll come get you when it's time for dinner if you want."

I shrug, "Sure."

I walk out of the tech lab and Forge proceeds to show Nightcrawler how to turn it on and how to change the holograms.

I turn down a hallway to the right, following the scents towards the danger room.

I pause outside of it, checking the monitor and looking for the door up to the observation room.

I enter in the pass code that I had seen Logan put in and walk into a small elevator, going up a floor to observation room, a room full of computers and charts to keep track of the students' progress as well as a whole reinforced set of windows where you can look down and see the entire room.

At one of the computers I hack into the system and begin searching for the programmed simulations; all of which are far less deadly than the simulation back at the facility.

I finally spot one that seems like a proper challenge. It required me to put in a code that said that I was ok with turning off all safety parameters.

I hacked through that and put it into motion.

I may not be good at technical engineering but the boys at the lab made sure I could hack into almost any computer; even the FBI and Pentagon were no match for me.

I quickly teleport down to the steel floor before everything changed.


	17. Venting

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>A dark pine forest appeared around me, blocking out any possible light from the stars in the simulated night sky.<p>

In the distance I could hear the strong current of a river and snow blanketing the forest floor is making all other noises muffled and scents harder to pick up on.

I just stand there for a moment taking in all the new scents and sensations.

The cold has never really bothered me; plenty of endurance training ensured that.

I slow my breathing and listen for anything, a distant breath, a rustle of pine needles, a snap of a twig…

Not that my foe would make noise like that unless it was on purpose.

I quietly begin to stalk through the trees, constantly scenting the air; trying to smell past the overpowering pine scent.

The snow is untouched, not giving me a single hint of what direction I should be searching in.

I shift back to my green form, allowing myself full concentration on my task.

A pile of snow dropping from a distant tree causes me to snap my head that way, and stop moving. After a moment of more silence I slowly make my way towards where I heard the sound.

The wind changes and I catch a faint trace of something odd. I walk into the wind, following that scent, until I hear a low growl.

I watch the darkness ahead of me and crouch into a defensive stance as I see the eyes gleaming back at me.

I growl warningly and wait for the eyes to blink or move.

The eyes disappear and I hear a very faint crunch of snow going around to my left, circling me. I stay ready for an attack as I follow the footsteps.

Suddenly a snarl rips through the silence and I drop to the ground as something flies over me. I jump up and watch as the body falls into the snow, powder flying everywhere.

I grin and wait for him to get up and dust himself off. He turns and glares at me, claws at the ready.

No exchange of words, just body language and growls.

I grin mockingly at him and flick my tail, waiting for another reckless charge. He snarls again then drops to all fours, running into the trees.

I follow the sound of him running; watch the snow for the imprint of his clawed hands and boots. As I run after him I shift my skeleton ever so slightly in order to keep up with him. I drop and begin running on all fours like him, like an animal.

I skid to a halt as the sounds stop and the snow becomes bare. I crouch on the balls of my feet, looking up into the trees; searching for any sign of him.

I howl in pain as his claws sink into my back and his weight forcing me to fall on my face.

He digs his claws in as I try to flip over and get at his throat. He chuckles and pulls one set of claws out, wrapping that hand around my throat, letting the claws draw blood there as well. He starts to dig the claws into my back deeper, going for a grip on the spine, causing me to scream.

In a quick attempt to get him off of me I shift my tail into a blade, whipping it at his face. I catch his eye and he howls and puts his hands up to protect his face.

I quickly scrabble out from underneath of him and twist, sitting up and ramming my claws, up into his chest. He snarls and rips his claws down both my arms, trying to remove my blades from his chest as his eye and face are pouring blood.

Getting my feet underneath me, I push forward, forcing him to the ground with me kneeling on his stomach. I grin as I twist the blades a little bit, pulling a yell from him as his hot blood steams in the freezing air.

I pull out on hand and raise it to slam it into his face and end the simulation.

As I do I suddenly see Wraiths grinning face in place of the fake Sabertooth's. I hesitate and then snarl viciously, and then instead rip my claws up his stomach, his intestines and other innards spill onto the snow, soaking my pants with blood. I swipe another blade deeply across his throat, causing him to choke and gurgle helplessly.

I retract the claws on my right hand and begin to hit in the face with my fist, creating even more damage than a normal person due to my strength and adamantium bones. I just kept punching until the trees and snow faded and then even after Sabertooth's corpse disappeared, I left a deep indent in the steel floor.

I eventually stop and just sit there panting, staring at the dent, where his face used to be. I shakily get up and look at my hands, completely clean of blood and gore and my back just has fading ache where the hole used to be.

I take a deep breath to calm myself before smiling. That felt amazingly good.

I glance up at the observation room and see someone behind the glass. Growling quietly, I teleport up there. I frown as I end up in front of Nightcrawler, who looks scared at my sudden appearance.

.

"How long have you been watching?"

He glances down at the floor and then back at me, "Not too long."

"How long?"

I remain deathly calm as the smell of fear rolls of him in stinking waves. He shifts nervously and says, "I've only been in here since Sabertooth had you pinned…"

He watched me the entire time I was pounding his face into a pulp.

"I guess now that you've seen that I'll have to kill you too."

His eyes go wide and his jaw drops, "What? But- why?"

I keep glaring at him with a deathly serious face and he begins to back up. I crack and begin laughing at him.

He stops and looks at me scared and confused.

I sit down at a computer chair still laughing, "Did- Did you really think I was gunna kill you for that? Hell I don't give shit if you saw me venting or not. Do I look like I would really give a fuck if you saw that?"

He relaxes a bit, "I'm sorry fraulien. It was just a very graphic display."

I shrug, "He wasn't real and I've done much worse to living people."

I grin at him maliciously and he looks at me debating on whether or not I was kidding.

"I just needed to get that out of my system. I'm not used to going so long without a mission and I have a lot of pent up aggression when it comes to my dear uncle."

He chuckles nervously, "I guess that is understandable, as long as you don't plan on doing that to any of us."

"Just don't give me a reason to and you'll be peachy."

My stomach grumbles and I sigh. I quickly turn off the danger room and reinstate all the safety protocols, before locking the system again. I turn back to him and spy him fiddling with the image inducer on his wrist. "Do you wanna go get some dinner, Kurt?"

He raises an eyebrow at that question, "I thought you didn't like the mess hall? And why did you call me Kurt? You never use my real name."

"I wasn't talking about the dining hall and I dunno. I normally tend to call people by their code name or real name if they don't have one. I just trust you a little more than the others I guess. It's the same with Logan, I trust him, and so I allow myself to be a little more informal with him. If you don't like me calling you Kurt I'll keep calling you Nightcrawler. I don't care."

He holds out his hands, like he was stopping me, "No, no, no! Please call me Kurt. I like the fact that you trust me."

I raise an eyebrow as I see him blush a darker blue. What's that about? I shrug, "Whatever. So are you hungry or not?"

He nods, "It's almost seven, I've been waiting for you to… finish."

I frown, "Seven? I left Forge's at like four."

Kurt nods, "You've been- venting… for the past hour."

Wow… time flies when you having fun I guess. I smirk at that and stand up. "How bout we give that thing a test run and see how it holds up, in a real world situation?"

He looks at the watch-like device and then nods, "Sure, but where would we go? I don't think you'd like the mall, it's way too crowded."

"How about that place that sells hamburgers that you mentioned."

He grins and nods, "I love that place! You should try the Triple B Burger, it's amazing."

He fiddles with the buttons a moment and becomes that first hologram I showed him. "You like that one huh?"

He nods, blushing again, this time reddish on his now white skin, "Forge told me you helped design this one for me."

I shrug, "I'm glad you like it, I figured you'd want something that was close to your actual appearance. Just like how I like this form." I shift into my brown-haired, green-eyed, Caucasian, tailless form.

"I'm gunna have to change first, then I'm gunna sneak into Logan's room and borrow a little bit of money."

Kurt frowns, "You don't have to steal any money from Logan. The Professor provides us all with an allowance, I can pay for it."

"How did you get all that set up before I did?"

Kurt shrugs, "Well I have been conscious longer, and I agreed to finish my schooling here. I was home schooled in Germany, but I am at the senior level here, so it all works out."

"I don't need schooling, I was taught high college level work; history, math, science, computer programming, weaponry, military strategy, espionage, and assassination." Kurt bites his lower lip, "I don't think those last things are normal college courses…"

"Probably not."

I point towards the elevator door, "Shall we?"

He nods and we take the elevator back to the hall and then head up to my room, which I finally have the key for. I change into a green t-shirt with a Celtic design on it as well as a dark purple zip-up hooded sweater that Kitty provided for me. It's almost November and in New York that means that people begin to dress warmly. I don't want to draw attention to myself by walking in with just a t-shirt on.

I walk out of the room and smile as I see Kurt in his dark brown trench coat. "You know you don't need that anymore right?"

He grins sheepishly, "It's the only coat I have…"

I chuckle at him and he fixes it a little bit, "You can't see my tail right?"

I look him over and shake my head, "Nope you're good."

He sighs, happily and says, "Let's go."

At the front doors we run into one of Kurt's neighbors who rooms with Iceman. He's that Asian kid with the headphones; he looks me over and then asks Kurt, "Hey, Elf-boy, who's your friend?"

"My name is Kim."

He frowns and then he looks like he remembers me, pointing his finger at me, "Oh! You're that chick that got toasted at the gate. Cyclops says you're a psycho. Man what did you do to get on that prick's bad side?"

I'm taken aback by his bluntness, but then I grin at him and say, "I helped save his life and I killed a few people."

He nods, "No shit, wow. Hey you're on our side now, so I guess that's a good thing right?"

I flash him a metallic smile, before making them look normal again, "You definitely don't want to be my opponent."

Kurt nods knowingly, probably recalling the danger room or maybe the death of Wraith. He holds out a hand and says, "Well they call me DJ around here, nice to meet you."

I shake his hand, hiding my surprise at his bold friendliness. Kurt shifts a little, "Well we're about to go get some dinner, so we'll see you around."

DJ nods, "Where you going?"

"Big Bob's."

DJ punched Kurt in the shoulder playfully, "Man, why didn't you tell me you were going? I would've waited on dinner for that!"

Kurt grins, "Well it was a last minute decision, really."

DJ looks at me then Kurt and then grins, "Well have fun. See you guys later."

He walks away, pulling off his thick yellow and black hooded sweater. We walk outside and I breathe in the cool air and smirk at Kurt who's already shivering. I glance down the driveway to the gate, grimacing at the recollection of the last time I saw that thing.

"So how are we getting into town exactly?"

Kurt frowns, "I don't know…We can't bamf and normally I ride with one of the other students with a car and license…"

I glance over at the garage. "I know!" I grab his arm and pull him towards the garage. Luckily the door was unlocked and so I sneak in, a smile appearing on my face as I look over all the cars, ATVs and motorcycles.

Kurt hesitantly follows me in and whispers, "I don't think stealing a car would be the smartest thing…"

I shrug, "Who's going to stop us? None of the other X-men are here and anyways I'm not stealing, I'm borrowing."

I walk over to the bike I saw Logan with when he was planning on just up and leaving. My hands are itching to rev the engine and listen to it roar. I kneel down and look at the modifications that Logan added and Kurt shuffles nervously. "Kim, I really don't think we should borrow that one. I've seen the way Herr Logan treats that one… I don't know about you, but if he ever found I even touched it he would hang me up by my tail and use me as a piñata."

I look up at him, "Don't worry, if I were ever going to borrow this one, I don't think I'd be planning on coming back."

I stand back up and look around finally spotting a good candidate. "How about this one?"

I walk over to a larger, more common Harley that smells only faintly like Logan. It's large enough to fit both Kurt and I with no problem and it doesn't seem like one Logan would kill us for borrowing.

Kurt shrugs, "Can you drive a motorcycle?"

"Would I suggest it if I couldn't drive it?"

He looks as if he's thinking about it and then shrugs, "If you're sure…"

"Sure, I mean I don't have a license or anything but-"

"What? You're going to ride that thing around town without a license?"

"Well it's not like I can just go out get ID, I technically don't exist."

I look around the room for where they store all the keys. Spotting a lock box on the wall I walk over to it as Kurt continues to stammer.

"Look I'm confident enough in my driving to tell you that we won't get caught."

I begin picking the lock when I hear my stomach growl. I roll my eyes and continue working at the lock until it pops. I've been spoiled since I got out of the facility; it's a nice feeling not being half starved all the time.

I grab the key labeled for the Harley and turn, smiling and show Kurt the keys. "Alright let's go."

He smiles nervously and I press the button on the keys for the garage door opener.

"You go stand out there and I'll wheel it out."

He teleports and I move the bike out of the garage, closing it behind me. I hop on and turn to look at him, grinning. He makes an audible gulping sound and I pat the seat behind me.

"Don't tell me the 'Incredible Nightcrawler' is scared?"

He frowns and then hops on the seat behind me. "What am I supposed to hold on to?"

"Hold on to me if you need to." I can see his hands hovering over my waist and I roll my eyes. What is with this guy? I rev the engine to life, causing him to jump and grab ahold of me.

I smirk and grip the handles, "Does the gate open automatically?"

From behind me he says, "There should be a button near the ignition, or at least that's where it is on Cyclops' motorcycle."

Thankfully it's there and I look at him over my shoulder and say, "Better hold on."

I press the button and quickly accelerate, moving down the driveway so fast I almost didn't give the gate enough time to open. Kurt squeezed a little tighter and I could hear him praying in German.

I laugh and ride out of the institutes gates, heading for the town in the distance.


	18. I'm The Only One!

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The ground shudders as the basketball court splits in half and begins sliding apart.<p>

Once it's open, revealing a large opening, the Blackbird lowers down into it, the ground sealing up behind it.

Below in the basement of the institute, the jet's ramp lowers and the X-men start to emerge, some a little worse for wear, but mostly uninjured.

Iceman is hopping on one foot, being helped by Beast whose other arm seems to be bleeding from a small gash.

Jean and Cyclops follow Xavier down the ramp, discussing their mission.

"I don't see why we let them go Professor. We could have brought at least a handful of them to justice finally. What did Magneto say to you?"

Xavier looks up at Cyclops with a serious look on his face, "He threatened the safety of our school and students. I thought it best to wait for a time when we could capture Magneto himself. His Brotherhood won't be as organized without him."

Wolverine joins them, cracking his neck and saying, "I dunno Chuck; his blue girlfriend seems to help him a lot with the brain work. I think you shoulda let me kill Creed though. No one would miss that bastard, he's just a bodyguard."

Jean frowns, "We are not murderers Logan. We capture, not kill."

"Speaking of murderer, is the rest of school ok? We left everyone here, with her running around and only Gambit and Rogue in charge."

Wolverine stiffens, obviously fighting the urge to attack Cyclops. "I already told you, she's not going to hurt anyone."

Cyclops points at him, "You told us what she said, she doesn't even know what'll happen to her now that she's of the drugs that kept her under control, if you can call that control…"

Xavier holds up and hand to Logan, whose fist was reeling back, ready to punch Cyclops. "We've already discussed this; we are keeping an eye on her for any changes. She has already shown much improvement while being here. She eats more and is beginning to sleep comfortably and although she is avoiding most of the student body, there are those that she is beginning to either tolerate or become friendly with. You must admit Scott, that she has not shown much inclination towards excessive violence since she has been here."

Wolverine crosses his arms and glares at the other man.

Cyclops shakes his head, "We all saw what she did Professor, and she's admitted to killing a lot more. She's trained to kill, she may have been a normal kid one time, but they've twisted her too much. She's just a weapon now, not a person."

By now all the others have left to go tend their wounds and eat something, leaving Jean, Xavier, Cyclops, and Wolverine.

Xavier sighs, "I fear that words are not enough to dissuade your opinions. We will continue to watch her, but maybe we should try to make more of a connection with her. Maybe I could counsel her like I do with some of the others."

Jean shrugs, "She hides from everyone and then what happened at the gate and the rumors that Scott and Bobby are spreading have made some of the student afraid of her. Kitty, Kurt, and Forge seem to be advocating for her though. And honestly Professor, after what I saw her do, she scares me."

Xavier frowns and looks at Wolverine, "What about you? Have gained any more ground with your daughter?"

Wolverine's anger falters as he says, "Not really, Chuck. I don't know what to say to her. Hey sorry I didn't come back and rescue after you helped me escape, I sorta forgot you were my kid."

Jean nudges Cyclops and they leave the other two and walk out of the hangar.

"I mean I thought my life was all sorts off messed up, but now I know she's had it worse an did nothing for her… I'm not dad material either. I can remember chunks of our life before Project X, but it's like watching a movie, it doesn't seem like that person back then was me."

Xavier nods understandingly and then says, "You always tell me one of the reasons why you live the way you do is because you don't have anything to live for. Well she's your reason. From what I saw of her mind, before she blocked me out, she's scared Logan. She doesn't show it because in her eyes emotions are a sign of weakness, but she's been taken away from the only thing she's known, as harsh as that may have been, and brought to a place where she doesn't know how to act or how to reciprocate kindness. Today, with the new wheelchair, that was extremely difficult for her and to come so far this soon is amazing. But like her father, she learns to adapt quickly. You say you don't know how to be a father, Logan, but she doesn't know how to be a daughter. To be loved, shown kindness, to be protected, these things you can give her Logan. You can both teach each other, and in doing so, learn so much more about yourselves."

Wolverine runs a hand through his hair and says, "Yeah, I know you're right, Chuck, it's just difficult."

"Any new relationship is tough, Logan."

He grunts in agreement and walks away.

Xavier sighs, imagining the trials his X-men have yet to go through and hoping that someday everyone will find the peace that they're fighting so hard for.

.

I eye the odd looking creation in front of me.

"This is a burger? I always heard the soldiers talking about them as if they were some kind of wonderful delicacy. This is a clump of greasy meat covered in old vegetables and fake cheese on bread."

"Itsh grea you shou try ih."

I look up at Kurt and raise an eyebrow at his statement made around all the food in his mouth. He had already taken a huge bite of his food and was munching away happily.

"Well it smells… good at least."

I pick the messy burger off of the tray and hesitate before quickly taking a bite. Kurt's watching me intently for my reaction as I chew and once I swallow that chunk I look up at him and say, "That was actually pretty good! This is the first time I've ever eaten fast food and I think I like it."

In truth it tastes like chemicals and oils, but I didn't want to upset him.

It drips onto my lap and I growl. Kurt laughs as I wipe away the sauce with a napkin, looking around to make sure no one heard me.

The restaurant is crowded with young people, just like the school. I was nervous at first when entering, but Kurt just told me to sit down at a booth in the corner (like he knew that I would want my back covered) and went off to order our food.

The restaurant itself smells like body odor, cooking meat, and burnt oil and it was noisy. Everyone is trying to talk over each other even though many are crammed together at the same table or booth. It wasn't very clean either, I could see a permanent brown color to the, what I'm assuming was white, tiled floor. The floor under our table was sticky and the table was covered in crumbs from the previous occupant's meal.

"Is this what you would consider a popular place?"

He takes a long draw on his soda and nods, "Everyone comes here. It may look bad, but this kind of food is what the youth America lives on."

"No wonder you've gained weight since being in the facility."

He frowns and I quickly say, "I mean you were too skinny before and you looked malnourished; now you look healthy, full of nutrients and what not."

He grins and says, "Yeah, it's this American food, even in Germany I didn't eat this luxuriously for so cheap."

I take another bite of the burger and glance around the room again, stopping when I spy a group of girls our age, staring at us and whispering.

I look down at my food and say, "We're being watched."

Kurt snaps to attention and looks around, "From where?"

"Look to your left, two tables back."

I look up at them out of the corner of my eye as Kurt glances around casually and then turns back to me. "Do you mean those high school girls?"

I nod and he bursts out laughing.

I glare at him, "What?"

It takes him a minute to stop laughing and he says, grinning, "Those girls are trying to figure out if they know us. People like them are the gossip squad in high school, similar to Kitty and Jubilee and Tabitha."

I recall the two times I've spoken with Kitty and cringe. I begin to listen in to their conversation to find out if Kurt was telling the truth.

"Seriously, did you see her outfit? That is so last year!"

"Who cares about her, what about the guy she's with? He's kinda cute, almost mysterious looking. Do you think they're dating?"

"I can't tell, the way he looks at her says yes, but she seems weird. Like, I dunno, she doesn't seem normal."

"Maybe she's his sister or something."

"Let's go see after we finish eating."

"Okay, but what if she gets upset."

"Really Tiffany? People don't get upset at us, they get jealous."

"That doesn't make sense- oww! Why did you pinch me?"

"Hurry up and eat your salad."

I stop listening after that and frown, looking back at Kurt.

"Some of them think you are 'kinda cute' and they think I act strange."

He raises his eyebrows and glances back over, "Really? They think I'm cute?"

I nod, "And they plan to come over to find out if we are 'dating' after they finish eating."

Kurt nearly chokes on a French fry he popped into his mouth. "What? Dating? But- but we're not- I mean- Uhh…"

I watch as his face becomes a bright red color, I bet his fur would be turning very dark.

"If you wish to go speak with the girls you can, you have no obligation to me. It would be another good test of the inducer. This is what it is mean for, is it not?"

He looks down at his hands, silent. I don't understand what his issue is and why he keeps blushing. If he is attracted to one of the girls he should attempt to woo her, not sit with me in embarrassment.

The silence is broken by a buzzing noise coming from his coat pocket. He jumps and reaches into his pocket to pull out a cell phone. As soon as he flips it open I can hear Logan's worried voice. Kurt smiles and glances up at me when Logan mentions my name, "Mien Freund, calm down! Kim is perfectly fine, she is with me."

I can hear Logan sigh and he asks Kurt something. "We're at Big Bob's and yeah we did borrow your motorcycle."

"No, I'm not joking. Kim drove us here and now we are finishing our meal."

"Why would I be lying? Oh because of that, yeah Kim and Forge came up with something to fix that. I really can't go into detail Herr Logan; we are in a crowded restaurant."

"Fine we'll be heading back shortly."

He snaps the cell closed and looks up at me grinning, "It seems we may have caused a bit of worry when the X-men came back. Logan went to find you and when he couldn't he discovered the missing bike."

I laugh, "Were they afraid I left and went on a… fit?"

Kurt frowns and shrugs, "I do not know fraulien, but I did say we'd be back soon."

I glance down at my half eaten burger and the untouched fries, "I guess I won't be able to finish, but we can wait long enough for you to finish while I eat my fries and finish my soda."

The soda so far has been the only "junk food" item I have truly enjoyed, the carbonation and the sugars with the multitude of flavors is just a good combination.

We eat the rest of our food in silence. I'm still watching the room, but every so often when I glance at Kurt I find him staring at me. He quickly looks away whenever I catch him, but I find it quite odd. Out of the corner of my eye I see movement and look back at that table with the girls. They're getting up to throw their trash away.

"I think we better go…"

"What? Why?"

"We are about to be surrounded and unless you want to be asked a lot of questions that clearly make you uncomfortable, we should leave."

He looks over his shoulder at the groups of girls and goes wide-eyed and quickly slides out of the booth. I follow suit and we hurriedly toss out unfinished food and trash into the nearest bin and rush out the door. I turn to see the girls all glare at me and some put their hands on their hips indignantly. The one who was pinched earlier, who also seems like the least intelligent, smiles and waves goodbye to us before getting pushed into a couple walking by with their milkshakes; making a huge mess.

I laugh and hop on the bike, pointing it out to Kurt who begins to laugh as well.

He gets on behind me again and I say, "Do you trust me now?"

He gulps but nods and says, "But let's stay within the speed limit please."

I chuckle and rev the engine. He hesitantly places his hands on my waist this time and then tenses. I look back at him and smile, smelling his fear, "Ready?"

He blushes for some reason and then nods again. I drive us off, back the direction we came from the mansion.

.

"So she went to a fast food restaurant with Nightcrawler then? Then why do you look so stressed, Logan?"

I glare at Jean and glance at the front doors, running a hand through my hair.

"I dunno, it's just when I thought she left for good, I- I dunno…."

Gambit smiles, "You'd have missed da girl."

"You just keep outta this Cajun. You were supposed to be watching the mansion with Rogue while we were gone."

I glare at him and he grins, "No one told us, mon ami. We had just gone out on a lovely afternoon when the alarm sounded. It was quite de time too."

He winks at me and I roll my eyes, of course we couldn't rely on him. Then again, I'm surprised they ever rely on me, with the amount of times I've just up and left 'em.

"What I'm more curious about it is how Nightcrawler was able to sit in a restaurant like that and not be noticed. Normally he gets it to go…"

I glance at Jean again, sitting in one the puffy chairs in the entryway and nod, "He said Kim and Forge came up with it, the only thing I saw was that chair for Chuck."

Gambit chuckles, "Gambit more interested in why dey would go to der alone. Meybe the blue-boy putting' de moves on Kim?"

I stop pacing, I didn't even think about that… How am I supposed to react to that? Should I talk to them? Let 'em deal with it on their own. I know Kim can't be that clueless about that… This father shit is givin' me a headache.

Jeans laughs quietly, "Maybe you shouldn't start off things by lording over her, Logan. She IS 18, and we know she doesn't really have a good view of authoritative figures. If you just start lecturing her and giving her rules, she may back off and feel like you are trying to be like Wraith."

I keep silent, letting Jean, read my thoughts. How am I supposed to be her father without acting like one?

She replies telepathically, "_Before needing a father or a mentor, she needs friends Logan. I understand what the professor said and in a way he's right, but you shouldn't force her to see you as her father. She's grown up knowing the men in her life were cruel and only knowing what a father is from what she was told or what she saw. She may understand that you are her father, but like you she's technically grown up alone. Use THAT knowledge and just start off as friends. She may never love you as a father, but I bet she'll learn to love you as a friend._"

I'm glad someone can explain this to me in a way that works for me.

"_Psychology classes and helping out the younger students._"

Ah…

Gambit starts flipping a card, "Silent conversations are no fun, Gambit never get to hear de good stuff."

Just as I was about to tell him where he could stuff those cards of his I hear a familiar engine sound.

I step out of the doors and watch as she speeds down the drive, and then quickly brakes, sliding across the gravel before stopping. Thank god she didn't take the Ducati…

She grins and the Elf who is holding on to her for dear life shouts, "Gottseidank!" He leans back and smiles shakily at the back of her head.

I frown, but she hops off and then looks up the steps at me, "Been waiting long?"

I cross my arms, "Who taught you how to drive?"

She grins, "I did."

The elf nearly falls over as he's getting off the bike, "What? I thought you said you knew how to drive!"

"I do, the guys at the facility let me drive a motorcycles a couple of times for some missions."

"A couple of times!"

The elf looks pale- Wait… He looks white, like Caucasian, not blue.

"I see how you were able to blend in now, how much make-up did that take?"

He frowns, "What? Oh!"

He smiles over at Kim again and says, "She made me this."

He shows me what looks like a watch, I glance beside me as Jean and Gambit, come out to see as well.

"What is it?"

Kim shrugs, "It's an image inducer. A thing Forge helped me make that uses holograms to make someone like Kurt, look like the rest of the blander populace."

Jeans goes wide-eyed, "Really? Do you know what this means? All the other mutants, the children, who can't change what they look like, can live normal lives!"

Kim nods, "I made sure Forge copied down the blue prints of it so he can reproduce it and even make it smaller and more effective. The one I gave to Kurt is basically the prototype."

Blue-boy plays with the watch and as he does his face looks like static before becoming blue and fuzzy. "That's pretty handy."

"Yeah, what gave me the idea is that the lab boys were trying to do it to other mutants using genetic alteration."

She gestures to herself, "That's why I look like this. Then they tried using my shifting genetics on other mutants but it turns out that even in genetic form I'm a killer, it caused one mutant to turn into a puddle of gore."

She frowns and shrugs again, "That's the wonderful thing about me, I'm the only one!"

She grins and Nightcrawler begins laughing, doubling over. Jean and Gambit pause and then look at each other before bursting out laughing, "What did I miss?"

Kim shakes her head, "You can't tell me you've never hear of Winnie-the-Pooh. Seriously?"

"What?"

"Ok, I know I've been out of the social loop for my WHOLE LIFE but, come on. I had to deal with enough children to know about Pooh and Tigger."

Jean takes some deep breathes, wiping her eyes, "I like this side of you, much less serious and… mean."

Kim shrugs, "Back at the facility I couldn't be witty or happy. Emotions are a weakness, but I've been told time and time again that this is a safe place, so…"

Kim shifts, becoming green, her tail appearing behind her.

I get dizzy every time I try to watch her do that. It's not like Mystique's fluid change but more like a heat mirage. One minute it's the desert, the other it's an oasis. I guess it's kinda like watching a plant grow, you can't see it happening but it does.

She shakes the keys in her hand and says, "Catch."

She tosses them at me and says, "Don't worry, I didn't hurt the bike. I'll clean it before I go back inside."

I smile, "Thanks, maybe someday I'll let you try out the Ducati."

She smiles wide and says, "That would be awesome. I'm thinking that eventually I may need to… Procure one."

She walks off wheeling the bike back to the garage, and Nightcrawler goes to follow her.

"Hey, Elf."

He stops and looks at me, suddenly nervous.

"Come here."

He walks up the steps and follows me as I go inside.

As I shut the door he asks, "So what's up, Herr Logan?"

I Glare at Gambit and Jean and they retreat up the main staircase.

"Do you know what you're doing kid?"

He looks innocent, "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb; even if I didn't see the way you act, I can smell it. Look, I'm not telling you to stop, just be careful ok? She hasn't had the luxury of growing up in a place where you can just fall nonchalantly into a relationship. She's also not very stable, you've seen her."

He nods, "Just earlier today I watched her pummel a hologram of Sabertooth into a bloody pulp."

I frown, "So you know what I mean."

He nods, "I do, but I also know that she's a lot better than we think. I've seen a lot of the changes she's made since leaving that awful place and I think a lot of it is her just being allowed to be happy. You heard her, that she was taught emotions were weak."

He looks at the ground for a moment, thinking.

"But think about this; if she was the programs perfect weapon, she would have no emotion. They would have made her completely apathetic. She's not and in a way that's because of Wraith. He wanted her fear which made her hate him, therefore rejecting their teachings on the basis that they were wrong. She may have killed, and even liked the act of doing it, but have you ever watched her face when she talks about killing? It haunts her. How can you be evil, if you regret the things you have done? Evil does not regret, Logan."

I seem to be getting a lecture from everyone I meet today...

"I'm with you, Elf, but even I can tell you that those emotions sometimes have a habit of taking over, and she might regret it later, but she still might hurt you or someone else. Besides that, I think you'd be good for her, with all your God talk and what not. I'm just warning you to be careful."

I go to walk upstairs, "Oh and if YOU hurt HER, I'll turn your nuts into an ornament for my review mirror."

He audibly gulps and I grin and walk away.

* * *

><p><strong>"Gottseidank!" Means "Thank god!"<strong>


	19. What Have I Got To Lose?

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Ok so let me get this straight. You want me to show you what I can do without using half of my abilities? How does this make sense?"<p>

Over the intercom Xavier sighs, "We are well aware of your physical training and abilities that come with your feral mutation, what we are interested in are you're transforming abilities. The danger room is going to provide you with several different scenarios and all you need to do is transform to adapt."

Hands on my hips, I'm looking up at the danger room observation room.

"Ok, do you want me to use mimicry as well? Or is that for another test?"

"If that will aid you, then yes."

"Remind me to check out the other students' powers, so I can add 'em to my repertoire."

I glance behind Xavier at all the others they allow up to watch me. Most of them were the X-men or the new ones that were being trained for the team.

Kurt waves at me and I nod to him.

"Alrighty then, let's get this over with, bub."

"Ok, starting first simulation."

I roll my shoulders and crack my neck, waiting for the danger room's holograms to kick in. I don't know why I agreed to this…

Logan and Kurt convinced me that it would be a good idea if the X-men knew what I was capable of, other than the stuff they've already seen. I tried telling 'em that I have yet to find the limit of what I can do, but they still insisted.

Kurt even mentioned that maybe I could do a demonstration for their espionage class sometime, seeing as I'm a trained assassin and all that jazz. I'm sure that'd go over smoothly…

The ground begins to shake as the walls begin pouring water down in. The room quickly begins to fill, telling me that they're going for more than just a pond.

"You could have at least let me wear something that wasn't gunna get ruined in the water, these are new clothes."

That's what I get for letting Kitty pick out my outfit for the day, from all the new stuff Logan took me to buy yesterday at the mall. A hellish place crowded with too many people all trying to talk loud enough to be heard over everyone else. And all those stores…

I can see why he didn't want to go alone; he had the girls in the room next to me come as well, saying that they knew what clothes a girl my age should be wearing better than he did.

I take a large gulp of air as the water rushes up over my head. Opening my eyes, I notice the walls disappear and an undersea environment pop up in its place.

I roll my eyes and shift, developing gills. The weight of my metal skeleton weighs me down and I begin to sink quite quickly.

I take in a big gulp of water, feeling that mild drowning sensation as my lungs adapt to breathing under water. I sink until I hit a dark sandy floor, where I kick off as hard as i can, pushing myself back up and start swimming up whilst shifting.

My legs form together to create a tail like that of the mythical mermaid while my fingers become webbed and gills form beneath my ears.

The powerful tail helps to keep me swimming easily despite my skeleton.

I swim over to where the observation room windows are still visible, just sitting there in the middle of the water.

I get up close to the window, smiling at the students all pointing in awe.

I spot Cyclops right near the window, frowning and crossing his arms. I swim over in front of him and shift my face into a demonic looking creature and he jumps back. I laugh silently and glance over at Xavier and Logan who're frowning disapprovingly.

Lowering my mental shields slightly, I reach out to Xavier's mind. "_If you want to see me at my peak you're gunna want to change environments a lot quicker. The sudden system shock will make this a whole lot cooler and more fun." _

He responds, sounding a bit surprised, "_As you wish._"

"_Oh and tell Logan to crank it up a bit, simple environments like this aren't really a challenge._"

Logan leans down and presses a button on the console and suddenly the water is gone and I'm falling down into what looks like a gorge. I cringe a bit as wings tear from my back, unfurling to catch the wind and then flapping to keep me airborne. I glance over my shoulder and shrug as I see black leathery, bat-like wings behind me while the tail reforms back into legs.

At least he listened about the challenging part. The muscles attaching the wings are now sore from the sudden shock of "breaking" midair like that.

For the next half hour they switched the environments, doing anything from putting me in the middle of a fire, to being shot at by lasers (couldn't dodge seeing as it was against the rules, so I just made my skin prismatic, causing the lasers to refract and make a rainbow of beams ricocheting off the walls), to being on another planet with a different atmosphere. Most changes I made instinctively, just coming up with a new form off the top of my head.

I only used another mutant's power a couple times when it was something I've actually dealt with before, like being stuck in a room that was closing in on me; I just used Kitty's phase walking ability.

I think they were impressed with my range of forms and the speed at which I changed.

Admittedly, I was a bit tired afterwards from all the energy I put into it as well as the fact that I haven't really been keeping up with my training and so my skills were tiresome from being underused.

Xavier told me to go change and then meet him at his office. And so now I'm on my way there after putting on some dry clothes, just a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt.

The lacy green shirt Kitty made me wear is ruined, but the pants will survive I guess.

I'm still trying to avoid people in the halls, but I guess I'm getting used to dealing with this way of living; with all the people and the required social interactions and being careful not to offend or upset anyone. I guess you could say I'm a pro at adapting, but this is so different from anything that I had to deal with at the facility.

I still kinda miss the feeling of attacking someone full out, but I guess I can understand why these people are trying to avoid violence.

I hate the fact that most of them are afraid of hurting humans when the humans wouldn't hesitate a bit in hurting, or even killing one of us.

Xavier claims that mutants are humans still, but I don't even want to be placed in the same species as people like Wraith or Dr. Cornelius.

I come to Xavier's door and knock. The door opens and I'm greeted by Storm, smiling at me. "Ya wanted to see me?"

"Of course, come on in, Kim."

I walk in past her and frown recalling the last time I was in here. I'm not up for another headache like that EVER.

I spot Jean and Cyclops standing behind Xavier. Cyclops looks like he just found out his toothbrush was used to clean toilets.

I don't like being ganged up on like this, especially with the people who aren't really my fans.

"So…"

Xavier waves a hand at his overstuffed chairs and says, "Please take a seat."

I shake my head and cross my arms, "No thanks. I'll stand."

He frowns a little, and Cyclops snorts in an annoyed manner.

"Are you gunna tell me what you want or are we gunna stand here awkwardly until we choke on the tension?"

Xavier clears his throat and says, "Well we wanted to extend to you an offer. Upon seeing your recent display and with the other information you've given us, we believe you would be a valuable asset to our team."

"Really? You're asking the big bad killer weapon to join your team of 'heroes'?"

I glance at Cyclops who is being pat on the shoulder by Jean.

Storm walks around into my vision, "We know you are more than what we saw back in the facility. You protected us from having to commit those awful crimes ourselves."

I look at Cyclops. "I don't think everyone's convinced I'm not such a bad person. Hell I don't think I'M convinced. Look before you go putting all your eggs in one basket, I need to get this whole trying to be normal thing down. I still wake up expecting to find out this was all a simulation or some other way for my 'owners' to fuck with my head."

Xavier nods, understandingly, "That is why we were hoping you would agree to attend training with the other students, until you believe are ready. I believe you could help the others with their training as well, seeing as your particular set of skills are so unique."

"Well I guess I could… There won't be any kids, right? If anything were to… go wrong, I don't want another child's death on my conscience."

Cyclops grits his teeth and is visibly shaking, I think from trying to restrain himself from saying something.

I smirk a bit at that and Xavier says, "You would be in the group with the older students, all around your age. Mr. Wagner will be in the same group as well as Miss Pryde and Mr. Drake."

I shrug; what have I got to lose?

Then it dawns on me; everything. All these people who have begun to accept me and my awful past, and have given me a safe haven away from the people who made me into a monster... If I were to ever flip out and hurt one of them, even by accident, I would lose all of this.

I rub my knuckles nervously, "I can't promise that I'll ever become like Mr. Goody Two Shoes behind you, but I can promise to try my damndest to follow your rules and prove to you that I'm more than just a killer. I'll try out your little team, but I don't you all to rely on me. I'm not worthy of that much trust just yet."

I turn around and walk out of the office, hoping I just didn't agree to something I'll regret later.

.

Xavier sighs and says, "I would appreciate it if you would stop mentally screaming at me Scott."

"I can't believe you just did that Professor!"

"Because you are being so stubborn in your mindset, I am putting you in charge of the beta team, until you have proven that you can learn to see past your bias."

"What! You want me to be on the same team as- as that- thing?"

"Indeed. You seem to have forgotten why I made this institution, Scott. We accept all those in need of guidance and assistance. We fight for the hope that one day all of us in can live in peace with one another."

"I know that! But does she? She's killed mutants and humans alike! How is that promoting peace?"

Jean steps away from her boyfriend, "Scott, you're being pig-headed. You know as well as I do that she didn't have a choice in what she did. What if I had killed that man to save your life instead of letting her do it for me? Would you be saying the same thing about me?"

"No! Of course not, Jean, that's a completely different situation."

"Is it Scott? Your whole argument against her is based on the fact that she's a killer; but if it wasn't for her both Storm and I would be as well. I think working with her will do you some good; you'll be able to see the side of her that the rest of us have begun to see. She's not all bad, Scott. She's just lost, she doesn't know how to behave in a setting where everyone isn't trying to hurt her or use her."

Cyclops is silent for a moment, staring at Jean in disbelief, and then he throws his hands up in the air and then storms off.

Jean looks at her mentor, "I'm sorry Professor. He won't admit but he blames himself for that whole incident and he just puts it all on Kim. She also frightens him I think."

"I believe so too, Jean. Kim is an example of what some of our enemies would have done to us. It's a hard thing to face something that could be a preview of what may lie ahead for all of us."

.

I knock on Logan's door, hoping he's not off teaching a class or whatever else he does. No answer, not even a noise.

I knock again and the door pops open. He must not have closed it properly when he left.

I glance around the hall and when I don't see anyone watching, I slip into his room, nearly tripping on a bottle just lying on the floor.

Looking around I see similar bottles and cans scattered throughout the room.

For a military man, he's pretty messy.

I pick up the offending bottle and sniff its contents.

Ah, it's alcohol. I remember many of the soldiers smelling like this, the one who I gutted reeked of it when he came into my cage.

Sabertooth enjoyed drinking it too, but it didn't seem to affect the way it did the humans.

I wander about, looking for any sign of a personal touch, something to say this is Logan's room, but other than the bottles and the smell of him, it's bare.

No photos, no collections of any kind. The only thing I see is a couple motorcycle helmets and his clothes.

There seems to be a large dent in one of the walls where he's punched it.

Does he have nothing because he doesn't remember his past? He's had a while after he got out of the facility so that can't possibly be it. Maybe he just never sticks around too long…

I know that I don't plan on making this place my home. I need to leave at a moment's notice. I can't risk harming these people, they saved my life so I owe them that much.

If the guys at the government were to find out where I am… they wouldn't stop at just taking me, they'd take everyone. Wolverine assured me that Fury and his team would make it so I fell off the radar. But I've never trusted the man, seeing as he wanted to use me just like Wraith did.

Spotting a few unopened bottles near his bed I pick one up reading the black label. It is whiskey, and it seems to be one of his more favorite kinds.

I teat off the seal and open it, sniffing the contents. Smells awful...

I glance at the door before taking a small swig. It's disgusting! Strong and bitter,followed by a burning going all the way to my stomach.

I put the cap back on and place it back then I look around again once more before I slip out of his room, quickly heading into my own.

I glance around and start as something flies by my window and I jump a bit. What was that?

I go out onto my balcony and look up, sniffing the air. Something smells like chlorine…

"CANNONBALL!"

Something zooms past my right and splashes down into the now uncovered pool, cracking the ice covering it.

It's November, who would be swimming now?

I hear laughs and shouts from below and I lean over the railing to spot a group of older students all running over to the pool.

I see Tabitha and Jubilee among the group both laughing and pointing to the soaked boy pulling himself out of the water.

He gets to the edge of it and says; "Now yall owe me 20 bucks a pop."

He holds out a shaking hand and everyone grudgingly puts a bill into it.

Tabitha crosses her arms and says, "I didn't think you'd actually take the bet, Sam! I don't have $20."

The boy's teeth start chattering as he says, "That's okay Boom Boom, you'll get it to me later right?"

She huffs and says, "Sure, now let's go inside, I'm freezing my ass off out here."

He nods, and shuffles towards the back door of the mansion.

Jubilee looks up and waves when she spots me, "Hi Kim! You wanna hang?"

Most of the other heads turn and stare. I shrug, "I dunno, what does 'hanging' entail?"

She puts her hands on her hips and says, "Just get your butt down here. We're gunna show you how a normal teenager is supposed to act!"

I glance back at my room and then close the door to my balcony.

I guess this what I have to deal with if I want to fit in here right?

I jump down off the balcony and walk over to Jubilee who giggles happily and says, "Let's show Kim what video games are!"


	20. Yellow and Blue Spandex Everywhere

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"KILL HER! Where did my team go? Come on guys! We almost had her that time!"<p>

"Dude chill out, Jamie, it's just a game."

"A game that I normally win at, Sam. If you guys knew how to play, we'd be winning."

I glance to my right at the boy almost falling out of his chair, "Would you like to switch to my team after this?"

The other three who are on my team, sharing a section of the television screen all say "NO!"

We are playing this game called Call of Duty with two… Xboxes? connected together each with their own television. Initially I watched the others play, trying to understand how the controller worked and how to operate the interface. After a few rounds Jubilee made me join in.

Now we are on our tenth consecutive winning match with Sam (Cannonball), James (Warpath), and Jubilee. The other team has been made up of Tabitha (Boom-Boom), Jamie (Multiple Man), Bobby (Iceman), and Julio (Rictor). At first I was doing poorly, but as soon as I became more familiar with it, I began to get the top score each round.

"Aww man! 23 and 2? How did you get that many?"

I smirk, "You run out into the open too much, we held down the bunker and your kept charging in, giving us more points."

"You know that's called camping right?"

"In a real time strategy that would be called smart. Now if you had used more explosives we may have been a little more worse off."

"No fair! She's got military training!"

Sam laughs and says, "If you would pay more attention to Cyclops in Strats and Tacs class you'd know that too."

Jamie sticks his tongue out at Sam and says, "I give up, I'm going to go eat some dinner."

I look to Jubilee to see if they were done too. They all put down their controllers and some follow Jamie out.

As the room thins I spot a figure waiting in the corner, Iceman.

The rest of the group leaves, Jubilee, pausing at the door to the hall, "You coming, Kim?"

"I'll pass; I think I'm gunna go find Logan."

"Oh, okay! See ya later!"

I nod and she smiles, hurrying to catch up to the others. I turn my attention to the only other occupant of the room.

"Are you just gunna call me a monster and tell me I should leave? Because if you are, I've already heard it all from ol' One-Eye."

He stinks of fear and anger and his heart's beating a mile a minute.

He looks down at the floor and mumbles, "I'm sorry."

"I- what?"

"I'm sorry. Look I was thinking about it and you're not the one I should be mad at. It was those jerks who captured us."

I'm at a loss for words…

He looks me in the face, "If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead. You stopped me from fighting them. I saw how they treated you; the beatings, the threats, and that last time; when you had completely shut down. There's no way I could've survived that."

"I did what I had to do, though most of it wasn't really voluntary."

"That's exactly why I'm doing this. I don't believe that you are a killer at heart. You haven't even hurt anybody but yourself since you've been here."

"I don't know what to do now, I mean how does this interaction progress?"

He holds out a hand, "We start over. Hi I'm Bobby."

I hesitate, staring, confused at his offer. Then I grab his hand and shake it, "I'm Kim."

After a few moments of silence I decide it's time to go before anyone else decides to rope in me into some other ridiculous activity or whatever.

"Well I gotta go, see you around."

He nods and I glance behind me, through the windows at a spot at the edge of the woods and quickly teleport.

.

As soon as I appear I quickly go around the tree and lean against it.

That took a lot outta me, must be from the session earlier. I need to practice more; maybe it's a good thing that Xavier asked me to train with the others.

To preserve some energy I drop this form for my natural one, rolling my shoulders as the tension of the shifting dissipates.

Wow, my senses must be off 'cause everything seems heightened.

The smells of my surrounding are overwhelming; the trees, the dirt, all the animals…

I can hear the heartbeat of a rabbit nearby, smell its fur, almost taste it-

What the fuck am I thinking? I don't eat random critters in the woods like some animal.

I think I might have to go talk to Beast soon. This shit is starting to weird me out.

I cover my mouth and nose and then begin slipping through the trees towards the back of the mansion. Just as I get to the area across from my balcony I hear voices.

"But mon amour! Why not just one little kiss for me, eh?"

"You know why! Do you want to end up in a coma or worse?"

Well I know that Cajun accent anywhere, but I can't quite place the southern woman he's talking to.

"Maybe Gambit willing to take de risk for you, cher."

"Who are we kidding, Remy? This is never going to go anywhere."

"Don't say dat cher. We'll figure some'ting out."

I better keep going; those two reek of something and they keep pumping out more of it. Shit, do I smell pheromones? My sense of smell has never been this good.

I sneak past the couple, holding my breath to keep from smelling them.

I glimpse the woman Gambit is with. It's that teacher that I met during my first walk out here, Rogue.

Getting to the edge of the tree line I spot my balcony above the gardens and pool. I think I can make it if I teleport…

In a puff of smoke I'm thankfully up on the balcony.

As I go to take a step I fall to my knees, completely exhausted. Why is this getting so difficult?

I push open the door and crawl into my room, using my tail to close the door behind me. I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling, panting.

Well, shit… I feel like I just run a triathlon before swimming across an ocean.

A knock on the door startles me. I groan and slowly stand using my bed as a prop.

They knock again and I try to hurry to open the door, finding Kurt standing there when I do.

"Yes?"

He grins and his tail starting waving back and forth, "Hi, Kim!"

I lean on the door frame, "Is there something you need?"

He shrugs, "I heard you weren't at dinner, so I came to see if you were hungry."

I ignore the sudden hunger pangs at the mention of dinner, "No… not really. I was planning on going to find Logan, but I think I may just turn in early."

His smile fades, "Oh… Sorry, I'll uh- go find Piotr."

I rub my nose, realizing that my senses aren't acting up anymore.

He goes to turn and I say, "Wait, do you wanna- hang out? I mean I'm not the most entertaining person, truthfully I think I'm more of a downer for most people, but-"

"Sure!"

I walk into my room and he follows, leaving the door open. I look at him questioningly and he blushes,

"Um, it's a rule if a guy goes into a girl's room, the door has to stay propped open and vice versa."

"Ah…"

I sit on my bed, wishing I could just collapse and fall asleep.

He grabs the chair from my unused desk and sits on it backwards. After a moment of silence, I begin racking my brain for something to say.

"So how-" "What is-"

I smirk as we both started to say something at the same time. He grins and leans his head forward on his arms that are resting on the back of the chair, "You first."

I shrug, "I was just gunna ask you how you ended up in the facility in the first place."

His grin falters, "I was in hiding from a mob in Germany. I was in a small town looking for a friend and the people living there saw me and blamed me for some murders that had happened recently."

"Typical humans."

"I don't blame them; they just fear what they don't understand."

I frown, such a naïve point of view. "So what happened after you were seen?"

"They chased me into a building; I did not want to hurt them and I was too exhausted to teleport and so I was trapped. They were going to burn down the building when I heard the sound of helicopters outside. The villagers ran away shouting just as men dressed in black uniforms came rushing in. They shot me with some kind of dart and that's the last thing I remember before waking up to the X-men being brought in."

I smile in relief, "So you weren't there for long." He nods.

"So what was the circus like? I've never been to one, so I only know what I've heard or read about."

Smiling he says, "It was the best. I lived with them for as long as I can remember and they always treated me kindly, not caring that I was a mutant. I had an acrobat part before my teleporting powers developed. The audience thought I was just wearing some kind of suit, so I always got great applause."

"What about your parents?"

"I don't know who they are; I was raised by a woman in the circus."

One thing I can say is that at least I finally know who my parents are… were.

He shifts in his seat and then asks, "So do you like it here?"

I look at the floor, "I guess… It takes a lot of getting used to, I mean I was built to adapt, but when you've lived your life one way from so long, picking up the new habits is kind of hard. I love the fact that I can eat and sleep whenever I want and I'm glad that bastard is dead."

I notice his frown, "I don't regret killing him and every day I wish I had personally killed Cornelius and Creed too. I know you're all religious and what not, but with all the innocent people I've killed, I can't see your God getting angry over a couple more who were headed for hell anyways. One thing I can say about the facility is that bad things were expected. Now that I have people I don't want to hurt, I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen."

He shakes his head, "I can't see you ever hurting any of us, you keep saying that you might flip like you did at the facility or in the danger room, but if it came to hurting Logan or me or even Bobby, I don't think you would do it. I've seen firsthand what they put you through and I'm sorry that you ever had to go through it."

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't pity me. I hate it when people pity me. I'm not weak."

He looks at me sadly and opens his mouth to say something when someone knocks on my door and then peeks in.

Before even seeing her, I can smell Kitty. Her shampoo smelling of chemicals and fake strawberries gives her away.

She smiles at me and then looks shocked to see Kurt, "Heya Kim, Kurt… the professor sent me up to tell you that there's a training session tomorrow afternoon. And to tell you that Logan left earlier this afternoon and he won't be back for a few days."

"Why did he leave?"

"No one said anything about why, but I overheard Ms. Munro mention something about SHEILD."

Shit… If he's off dealing with them, then it must not be good.

I'm kinda pissed he didn't say anything to me though.

Kitty noticing my frown says, "Don't worry about it, he goes off all the time. He'll be back, he always comes back."

Kitty turns to go and Kurt gets up, "I better go get something to eat, talk to you tomorrow Kim."

He waves and walks out the door, closing it with his tail.

Finally I can get some sleep. I quickly turn off the lights and change and climb into my blissfully soft bed.

.

"Do I really have to wear this? It's dorky and not very sensible."

I tug at the tight black leather top with a large red "X" symbol on the right side of the chest. The matching pants weren't comfortable either.

Kitty laughs, "You'll get used to it; at least it's better than the outfits that the first students had to wear; yellow and blue spandex everywhere."

"I guess this is better than that then."

We laugh and walk out of the locker room into the danger room. I look over the others; Kurt, Colossus, Iceman, Kitty, and Cyclops who is looking very unhappy.

Looks like Kurt had to adjust his uniform too; to make room for his tail and as always he's barefoot. Must be hard to find shoes to fit his unique feet.

I turn to Kitty, "This is a small team."

She shrugs nonchalantly, "Basically we're the ones being trained to be on the main team. The Delta team is the younger or newer students who need a lot more training before they're ready for real world situations. The Prof. occasionally asks some of us to join the alpha team on missions, like the last encounter with Magneto. Bobby and I went along with them."

"Ah ok, makes sense, I guess."

"Alright enough talk, let's get this over with. The sooner we get started the sooner we can all get out of here."

Cyclops glares at Kitty and I. "Professor Xavier has put me in charge of training this team."

Bobby pumps his fist into the air, "Yes! No more Logan!"

"Don't think that because I'm not Wolverine that I'll take it easier on you, Bobby. I'm here to make sure you're ready for anything when you become a real X-Man."

Iceman holds up his hands defensively, "Chill man."

Cyclops paces in front of us, "We are training in order to help protect people. SOME of you may have a problem with that, but either you learn to deal or you leave."

Ouch, these words are getting just a little too pointed. He must not be too happy about being on a team with me.

"Today we are going to work on team work. We'll be running through a basic simulation with the goal of seeing how all of your powers work for the group."

Besides Kitty, I've already seen their group work. The only difference was that it was under duress and I was the one giving orders…

Kitty bounces on the balls of her feet, "Come on Cyke, let's get this started! I have a date tonight!"

"Fine, first off can anyone tell me the main roles that you can fill on the battlefield?"

Colossus finally talks and in a deep voice he says, "Offense, defense, utility, or support."

Cyclops nods and now I want each of you to tell me what you believe your role is."

Colossus speaks again, "Offense."

Bobby pipes up next, "Offense! All the way man!"

Kitty shrugs, "I dunno, utility?"

Kurt and I look at each other and he smiles saying, "Either support or utility I suppose."

Cyclops nods, "There we go, everyone can play more than one role. If you are offensive like me, you can also be defensive. Colossus is the same. Kitty you don't really have a an attack per say and that's why you could be used as support by getting our people out of combat or you can be used as utility by helping the team infiltrate an area. Kurt you'd be the same."

I'm getting icy over here with all this cold shoulder I'm getting.

"This is a pretty easy simulation we're doing today. We just have to get to the goal point after taking out all the targets."

Sounds easy enough...

"Ok, let's get started. Begin Danger Room Beta Session 1."

The area around us changes into a field and beyond that is a small clump of woods with a large building on the other side."

Cyclops looks at the building, "The roof of that is our goal. The whole team needs to make it there or we fail."

Bobby points at the sky, "I'm assuming those are our targets?"

I look to where he's pointing; at least a dozen giant robots are heading right for us.

Cyclops starts barking orders, "Iceman, colossus; you're with me. Nightcrawler, I want you to try and get Shadowcat as close as you can so she can take them out from the inside. You're also in charge of getting people out of harm's way if they're in trouble."

Kurt nods and then looks from me to Cyclops, "What about Kim?"

He rolls his eyes and says, "Mimik, you stay here and move up when we when we need you."

Kitty puts her hands on her hips and says, "That's so not cool, Scott."

He shrugs, "We need a backup plan in case something goes wrong; she's it."

Bobby interrupts the argument, "Uh guys?"

Several thuds draw our attention across the field where the robots are landing. Cyclops turns to go, "Let's go, the sentinels are on the ground."

Kitty and Kurt both look at for me for confirmation and I shrug it off, "Go ahead, I'm willing to play his game."

They nod and Kurt ports both them towards the sentinels as the others start running to meet them. Bobby looks like he's a running ice sculpture and colossus has covered himself in his metallic skin.

They all start working together smoothly. Iceman or Colossus would get them to hold still or fall over and then take them apart piece by piece. Cyclops is standing at a distance using his optic blasts to rip holes through them.

Something thuds behind me and before I can turn I'm smacked halfway across the field.

Cyclops turns and yells, "What are you doing? Take them out!"

Suddenly I snap into "attack mode." Wraith appears right where the battle was taking place, joined by some other government guys and a few goons. I turn to see the giant metal men walking towards me.

Standing up I say, "Yes, sir."

I pop my claws and run head on for the closer of the two, jumping onto its leg and then climbing up to its chest I slice at the metal, my claws going through it like butter. When the "innards" are exposed I reach in and grab a handful of wires and what not and rip them out and then I repeat the process until it begins to collapse.

As it starts to fall backwards, I'm grabbed by the other sentinel. It starts squeezing; making it hard to breathe and the pain starts to make my vision go blurry. I use my free arm and start trying to slice at its wrist. After a few hacks, the grip starts to loosen and I take the opening to scrabble out of the hand and jump up to the shoulders. Bringing my fist back I punch straight into its head, the metal tearing flesh off my fist and arm.

Its stops working and drops to the ground. I hop to the ground and as I'm watching the flesh grow back on my arm Wraith yells, "Why are you just standing there? Let's move."

Wraith and his men start heading towards the trees and I follow. As we're walking through the sparse forest, I catch an odd scent. "I believe there may be something here with us, sir."

He glares at me, but they all start moving more cautiously. Then suddenly behind I us I hear a whirring noise and something crashing through the brush.

"We should probably run, sir."

He nods and they all start running towards the building. I stay behind and one of the how goons notices, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you some time to get ahead of them. I'll be right behind you."

He hesitates but then Wraith calls for him and he just disappears. I turn and flex my recently injured hand. The muscles still hurt, but I can fight through it.

A bunch of smaller machines come into view. They look like scorpions with spinning saw blades instead of pincers. "Well aren't you a pretty bunch?"

There's only three or four so they shouldn't be a problem. I slice through a nearby tree and it smashes down onto one of them. None of these machines seems to be intelligent…

Two of them move around to my side, not giving me many options of movement. I stand there, waiting for their attack when the one on my right launches itself into the air at me. I hack of a few of its insect-like legs off and it lands on its side struggling to get up and move.

I flip backwards and start running through the trees in the direction the others ran. Just as I get out of the trees I trip and land hard on my knees. I look over my shoulder and see the two mobile machines right behind me.

One goes to jump and is blasted away by a laser. I look up to see Wraith holding a gun pointed at the other one. One of the goons shoots another weird gun and the second one is stopped dead in its tracks.

Wraith turns and says, "We need to get to the roof. Move your ass."

"Yes, sir."

We all run into the building, which is completely empty. Locating the stairwell we run up the stairs, it's only a 8 story building so it shouldn't take too long to get to the top.

As we pass by a door it burst open and more of those scorpion bots try to come through. One of the goons gets trapped and so I stop and using another mutant's ability I teleport to him, touch him and teleport to the top of the stairs before collapsing, suddenly exhausted.

Wraith catches up to us and says, "Get off your ass! We're almost there."

I glance behind him at the stairwell, crawling with the scorpion machines trying to get at us. Shakily I get up and the others run past me and out the door leading to the roof. I hurry to follow them but just as I reach the door a blade catches me in the back, making me shout out and fall forward onto the roof.

The robots are suddenly gone and Wraith is staring down at me, visibly pissed off. "What the hell was that? This was a team exercise! We were doing fine until you wanted to go play around!"

"Sorry, sir."

"And would you quit calling me sir! We use our names on missions."

"Yes… Colonel."

"What the hell?"

I cringe, waiting for him to kick me or something, but one of the government guys says, "Hey, I don't think she's all there…"

Another goes, "Maybe you yelling at her all the time put her back into the mindset of being back in the facility. You know, like shell shock or whatever?"

I slowly sit up, looking at them confused. Come to think of it, Wraith is acting way too nice… He would've left me behind a while ago and he would've been hitting me if I had gone against his wishes…

The one goon who stopped in the woods earlier kneels down and says, "Kim, who am I?"

I shrug, "A guard?"

He shakes his head, "No its Kurt."

I blink as his face becomes blue and the other change from soldiers into teenagers.

"Oh shit…" He grins at me as he sees my recognition.

"Well that was fucked up…"

Kitty looks down at me, "What happened?"

"I dunno, I just snapped into training mode I guess."

I look up at Cyclops, "Sorry, Sir- uh… sorry."

Must be the fact that I haven't done any training combined with the fact that the guy charge is someone who hates me…

"Old habits die hard, I guess?"

He glares at me all pissed off and says, "End simulation."

He walks towards the now visible doors leading to locker rooms mumbling, "Have to train with psychos and killers. How the hell do they expect me to make this shit work?"

I stretch my back, noticing that the pain from the wound was still there. "Are those machines real?"

Bobby nods, "A couple live action ones are thrown in to make it more realistic, normally they have safety features that make so they don't do any real damage… Are you ok?"

"I'll be good."

He smiles, "Thanks for getting me out of there. Those machines are quick."

Kurt offers me a hand up and I nearly fall over again, still weak from teleporting.

He frowns, "Why did you collapse to begin with?"

"I'm not sure, whenever I use another mutant's power I end up sapping me of my energy."

They frown and Kitty says, "Here lean on me, I'll help you get to the locker room and I'll take a look at your wound."

I smile at her and she wraps her hand around my waist and I put my arm on her shoulders for stability and we slowly make our ways back into the locker room.

.

"So she was under the belief she was running the course with the Colonel and his men?"

"I guess so. She kept calling me sir and throwing herself in harm's way to make sure we didn't get hurt. She completely failed at the team work aspect of the training."

"And you don't think that it might have been hindered because you refused to include her as you did the others?"

"I didn't want her getting in the way… Then she did anyways. If she hates Wraith so much, why was she doing so much to protect him? Me?"

Xavier ponders this for a moment, "She was trying to ensure that he was pleased with her."

"What?"

"To her if Wraith was upset with her he hurt her and if he was pleased with her he didn't. Sadly he trained her like Pavlov did with his dogs. Like with the dinner bell meaning food for the dogs, a successful mission meant no pain from him. So if she throws herself in the way of danger in order to ensure that it succeeds, then to her it is worth it."

"That's sick."

"Yes, and that is why we believe that most of her more violent actions were not really a conscious decision, but a deep rooted training."

Cyclops frowns and Xavier watches as this understand conflicts with his views on the girl.

"If you wish, when Logan returns, I'll have him take over the team leader position to train them."

"No. I think I'll keep training them for a while. They have good potential to all be X-Men. I'm gunna go see if Jean wants to eat dinner."

He walks out of the office and Xavier smiles, "We have hope yet."


	21. Regressing

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

**NOTE:** An awesome reader named **The Suburban Coyote** recently drew what Mimik/ Kim looks like and I believe it is spot on! Check it out at:

suburbancoyote. deviantart. c o m (remove the spaces)

Thanks for all the support and the amazingness!

* * *

><p>"Hey Kitty, where's Kim?"<p>

She puts some potatoes on her plate and then moves to the next container of food, "I think she's still sleeping. That teleport wiped her out. I wonder if anyone's mentioned it to Professor Xavier yet."

"I'm not sure. Should I go see if she wants dinner? She hasn't eaten since lunch and all she had was a sandwich."

"For most people that's a filling lunch." She pokes my stomach and I smile.

"So should I?"

She shakes her head she picks up a small pork chop from the container full of them, "Let her sleep. If she's hungry she'll wake up."

I follow her to a table filled with other students; Tabitha notices me asking, "So how your girlfriend?"

I blush hotly, "I- Uh…."

Kitty smacks her on the arm, "Tabby! Leave him alone! He's still in the puppy love stage."

She giggles and Bobby says, "Dude, I don't think she knows you're giving her signals. She seems kinda clueless when it comes to being normal."

DJ punches him in the arm, "Shut up!"

Noticing glares from several others at the table he quickly starts eating his carrots. I smirk at the fact that they're defending Kim.

"We'll I'm thinking about going to the mall later on, would anyone like to join me? Preferably someone who can drive?"

Kitty bounces in her seat, "Oh! I can-"

"NO!"

Everyone at the table shouts it as they looked panicked. Jubilee pats Kitty on the shoulder, "It's ok Kitty, we would just like to get there and back in one piece, that's all."

I chuckle and say, "Well I wanna leave by seven, so I'll meet ya at the front door, if you're coming."

They all wave and say," See ya Kurt."

.

_My heart is pounding and my lungs feel like they're on fire! _

_Where am I? It's so dark… _

_Wait, I hear something. Breathing, there's someone else here in the darkness! _

"_Hello? Who's there?" _

_The other person growls, deeply, like an animal. _

_I back up slowly, feeling the ground under each step. My back hits a wall that feels like it's covered in plants. _

_The animal thing snarls angrily and I can hear it getting closer._

_I hurriedly feel along the wall and become ecstatic when I find what feels like a door handle. I turn it and push, almost falling into the next room. I blink rapidly, blinded by the sudden harsh bright light. _

_As I regain my vision I look back at the black doorway, looking for the creature I was with. Within the darkness it roars and jumps out at me. I couldn't move when I saw it. _

_That creature is me, but not really. The way she moves and is built is different, more animalistic almost feline in her movements and looks. _

_She lands on me and pins me down, snarling as I struggle. _

"_Who are you? WHAT are you?" _

_She bends down to bite my neck with pointed metal teeth, but stops when she hears a shrill beeping sound. She whines and quickly runs back into the dark room, on all fours. _

"_Excellent! That went amazingly well." _

_I whip my head around to the familiar voice and see Dr. Cornelius standing on the opposite side of metal bars. We're in a cage, like at a zoo. _

"_Let me out of here!"_

_I'm ignored as he speaks to an assistant who appears out of thin air, "We have seen the extent at which this mutation can progress; now how can we reverse its affects and maintain it within reason?" _

"_Well, sir, some of the chemicals we have developed could help, but we would need more testing." _

_Cornelius nods and said, "Let me feed her and then we can be on our way." _

_He turns to a cart on his right and with a pair of tongs lifts up a large raw steak and throws it in between the bars. _

_I back up against the wall as Cornelius and his servant leaves. What is going on? Why didn't they even acknowledge me? Why do I look like some sort of animal hiding in the darkness? _

_A noise from the darkness draws my attention and I watch as the other me cautiously walks over to the steak and then picks it up with her mouth, dragging it back into the darkness._

_I stare in horror as a body suddenly appears on the floor where she had me pinned, its throat torn out. She wasn't attacking me… I must've been inside her victim. _

_It's a young male mutant, he's an odd gray color, bald, with gills behind his ears, and webbing between his fingers and on spines along his arms, back, and head. He looks like he's only 10 or 11… _

_What is this? Is this a dream? _

_Darkness surrounds me and suddenly I'm looking a familiar metal table. _

_This is the cutting board, where Cornelius performed all of his major surgical experiments on mutants, most of them never made it off the table alive… _

_A loud yowling draws my attention to the airlock doors that help block out contaminants from the room. They open with a 'swish' and in walk Dr. Cornelius with a few of his aids dressed in surgical gowns. _

_They're followed in by guards dragging between them the animalistic me, completely naked, with a small bleeding wound on her neck. The guards set her on the table and leave while Cornelius' team starst prepping for something. _

_Outside the door I catch a glance of Sabertooth watching, looking pissed off at something. Sick fuck is gunna watch them cut me open. _

_Cornelius snaps on his gloves and says, "Alright, just so we are all on the same page; this procedure is to open up cavities in the head at the eye and ear, giving us full access to the brain. We are then going to place a neurological implant blocking the centers of the brain where this feral mutation is coming from; drastically reducing the effect that it has on the subject. This combined with our serums should prove effective in nulling her territorial behavior as well as removing that pesky mating instinct complication. Is this clear?" _

_They all murmur "Yes, Doctor." _

_He smiles and says, "Miss Ortez, I would like you to be the one who monitors the healing retardant as well as the tranquilizers. Make sure that you keep them at full dose. Mr. Grant, the drill, if you would be so kind." _

_One of the assistants hands him a wicked looking instrument and I cringe in horror as I watch Cornelius bring the drill up to hover my other's closed eye. As he brings it down I scream and cover my eyes._

.

I bolt upright, breathing heavily, still screaming and covering my eyes.

I stop when I realize I'm awake and open my eyes to see Kitty, in her pajamas, running in through the wall.

"Kim! Are you ok? We heard you screaming!"

Just as she said that Kurt appears in a cloud of black smoke, looking panicked in his boxers, "What's going on? Are you alright, fraulien?"

I look at them and then it hits me, "That wasn't a dream…"

They look at each other and Kitty sits next to me on my bed, "It sounds like you were having a nightmare."

"No. Those were memories."

Kurt frowns, "Memories? Were they of Wraith?"

"No, of me."

I throw the blankets off me, forgetting I was only sleeping in a shirt and underwear. Kurt coughs and covers his eyes, "Kitty I'll be outside the door."

He vanishes and Kitty laughs, "I don't I've ever seen him that dark. What are you doing?"

I'm looking through the pile of clothes I left on the dresser and find pants and a new shirt.

"I need to go for a walk, just go back to bed."

I hear loud voices outside the door, sounds like Kurt and a few others I can't recognize. She crosses her arms, "We have a curfew."

"You may, but as you can tell I don't really follow the standard set of rules."

I quickly put on the clothes, not caring if she saw the scars on my back.

"I'll be back later."

Hesitating for just a moment, I use Kitty's power and fall through the floor; just as someone starts to bang on my door.

I pass through an empty classroom and then end up in Forge's lab.

After a moment of trying to regain enough energy to walk, I head down the steel-blue halls until I find the med lab, where Beast works.

I try the door and find it unlocked, but the lab itself is dark. I sigh and sit in one of the chairs, planning on waiting till he shows up.

.

The door opens and Beast walks in and when he turns on the light, he jumps, startled at the unexpected person there.

Kim is curled up on one of the waiting chairs, arms wrapped around her legs, staring straight forward like she could burn a hole through the opposite wall.

He frowns at her disheveled look and bare feet, "What is the matter, dear?"

She blinks, and looks at him like she just realized he was there.

"I need your help, Beast. Last night… Last night I had a dream, but they were memories and I need to find out if they're true."

She stands up and Beast notices the light green lines showing all over her skin.

"I think those drugs that the lab boys used were important. Not all of them, but some of them were. I need you to run some tests."

Beast walks over to his desk, putting down some files he had taken to read while in bed, "You need to calm down. Have you slept at all?"

"Yeah a little, I woke up screaming, I think I woke up some of the others as well. I came straight here, but you weren't here yet, so I waited."

"Do the others know you're here?"

"No I used Kitty's power to get here from my room."

"Oh dear, I'm sure they are all running through the mansion looking for you."

She shrugs, "So will you help me? I was planning on coming down here sooner, to find out the effects of the drugs, but now… Do you have a machine that can scan brains through adamantium?"

"Why on earth would you want-"

"Do you?"

He nods. "Good, I'll let you get all settled first and then you can help me. I'm going to assume like any serious scientist, you kept a sample of my blood from when you initially brought me here."

He smiles, "Of course."

"Good, you'll need to take some more blood then so we can compare the samples."

He walks around the lab, collecting things and turning on a machine here or there. She watches him nervously, waiting.

When he finishes he turns to look at her and says, "All right, now what is this all about?"

She frowns, "Last night I had what I initially thought was a dream where I was more animal than human, as if my feral mutation had become dominant. I watched as Dr. Cornelius and his team made holes into my brain through my eye sockets to block out parts of that mutation. I need to find out if they are still there first and then I need to find out what concoction of drugs were used on me and how much they kept that mutation at bay. I don't want to be that animal I saw, EVER again. I may be a monster or a weapon, but I still have my own thoughts and feelings. That, that- thing didn't. It only went on instinct and needs."

Beast jots down notes as she talks, nodding, "I understand, I myself have witnessed many feral mutations actually devolve the mutant. We feral mutants are still a mystery, with so many different forms and lengths as to which the beast develops."

She nods in agreement, "So you'll help then?"

He smiles again and says, "Of course."

.

He finally begins testing, drawing her blood and doing scans of my brain along with a few other tests that he suggested.

At one point Kitty rushes in looking for me, she looks relieved when she sees me sitting in a chair while Beast quickly draws my blood, before I can heal or reabsorb it.

"We have been looking EVERYWHERE for you! Kurt's freaking out thinking you got stuck in a wall or something."

"I'm sorry, but this couldn't wait."

"What was in that dream that's got you so spooked?"

"Nothing."

She huffs, "Fine don't tell me. I gotta go find Kurt so he'll stop bamfing all over the place."

She walks away and Beast looked at me with a bushy eyebrow raised. "What?"

"She seemed concerned about you and you just brushed her off."

I glance back at the doorway, "She seemed like she was upset with me not worried."

He laughs, "That means she is worried about you."

I look at him confused and he recites a quote, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

"She sees me as a friend?"

"I believe so; if she wasn't then I think she would have just gone back to bed, instead of searching for you."

"So if someone gets mad at you like that it means they were worried about you?"

"Sometimes, yes."

I rub my jaw, recalling Sabertooth's punch when I defused that bomb. No. He was just being an asshole…

Beast places the samples into a machine and then looks at the scans that finally printed out.

"Here, look."

He hands me the scans and I frown as I look over the images.

"The adamantium is the bright parts outlining the darker brain matter. You can see the wires running along the surface of you your brain. The fact that you're like this is appalling. That is why you are shorter than most, you know. They put your skeleton in at such a young age; I'm surprised you're not a lot shorter than this."

"I'm 5' 3, just like Logan, and he's always been this short. Anyways, they had me shift into a taller person before replacing my bones. I was stuck as a green teenager for the weeks after the procedure while I was only seven. It took forever for my body to adjust to the adamantium and be able to accept it as part of me."

"And how is it you can change your bone structure and shapeshift?"

"It's the same way I can change my clothes, the atomic make-up of my whole body is altered to rearrange into the form I want. I can't duplicate or remove the atoms and so that's why I can only do things that are human-sized. Next time you see me shift watch the air around me, the shimmer that makes me kinda blurry, that's all my atoms moving at a rapid speed, shifting around into my new shape."

"It's interesting you are so well informed on your abilities."

"During Cornelius' studies and experiments I had no choice but to sit there and listen to him discuss it with his team."

I finally spot the thing I'm looking for, "There! That bright spot there! That's at the same angle at which they went into through my eye. Thank god it's still there, and it seems like all those shocks I got didn't really mess with it."

Beast takes the sheet and looks closely at it, "This is the device they placed into your skull? The location suggests that they were trying to cease all natural basic instincts. Do you recall what exactly they were inhibiting?"

"They said something about stopping the parts of the brain where the feral mutation originated from; making it so I wasn't so… animalistic."

Beast frowns, "This technology and practice is awfully advanced, how long ago do you think it was that this happened to you?"

"I don't know, I looked younger, but I saw Sabertooth there and one of his assistants Ortez, the last time I recall them being at the facility at the same time was about five years ago. I think… My memory is full of holes so I can't be completely sure."

A machine makes a noise and Beast walks over to it to retrieve a print out, stopping to read it.

"What's that?"

"This is the list of identified chemicals found in your blood when we brought you here that aren't in your system now. This cocktail is unethical, it would kill any other person; mutant or not."

"So what have they been pumping in my system?"

Beast absentmindedly scratches his cheek, "There's this group of hallucinogenic chemicals that I have seen used for thought manipulation, but this combination… Then there is a few that are radiological chemicals that I'm not quite sure they were using for, and the only other ones I can somewhat I identify without research are chemicals used in emotional repression pharmaceuticals. The others on this list I am not familiar with, most of these are highly illegal or considered taboo among the science community."

"So the mind control drugs helped them control me, I know that, but what about the others?"

Beast sits down on a nearby stool, thinking hard.

"Have you been experiencing anything out of the ordinary? Maybe hallucinations, pain, or spikes in emotional responses?"

"I've been having strange problems with my abilities. Just the other day all my senses became amplified and I could smell and hear better than I ever have before. And then just recently I've been having problems with copying other mutant's powers. I teleported using Kurt's abilities and I was wiped out afterwards. For a few moments I could barely even walk, the same thing happened during the training session in the danger room."

Beast frowns, "With you permission I would like to look over the notes that are in your file you took from the facility and compare them to these findings."

I nod, "Do anything you need to, I can't afford to let anything go wrong."

"Until I can discover more information, I would suggest you refrain from using that particular part of your abilities and maybe even explore the feral parts of your mutation. I understand you don't want to have it surface completely, but knowing your father, repressing the beast is something that could have unfortunate consequences. If you begin to experience strong emotional responses to any situation; be it anger or extreme happiness, I want you to come down here. I can study the hormonal and chemical changes happening and see if it's related to what those abominable men injected you with."

I shift, quickly hiding my worry and say, "Thank you… Dr. McCoy. I really appreciate your help. If you could have seen the creature I saw…"

I shake my head and take a deep breath.

He nods, understandingly, "Please, call me Hank and you're welcome, it is the least I can do after your help back at the facility."

I frown, confused, "You're the second one who thanked me for helping them. I was just doing what I was ordered to."

Hank smiles, "You protected both Jean and Ororo and in doing that you saved Scott as well. You weren't ordered to do that, quite the contrary; all because you knew that it could have huge repercussions outside of the facility."

I shrug and turn to go, "I guess I didn't want you guys to end up like me."

I hurry out the doors and sigh as I reach the hallway.

I better go change and find Kurt and Kitty and apologize for upsetting them.


	22. Pickup Mission

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>After finding Kitty and Kurt I was made to finally join them for lunch in the mess hall to make up for worrying them.<p>

The other students there didn't seem to be afraid of me at all, but more curious. They bombarded me with questions like where have I traveled, how many languages could I speak, and if I could look like anyone I wanted to.

A few even asked me if I could copy their powers and I had to make up an excuse saying I was much too tired. The rest I answered briefly, slightly uncomfortable with all the attention.

Just as I finished lunch I heard the faint roar of a motorcycle and rushed to a window, spotting Logan turning into the garage. I glance at the others and say, "I'll be back."

Hurrying out the mess hall and the out the front doors I run over to the garage, a little embarrassed by the fact that I actually missed Logan. I stop at the open garage door, not even breathing heavily.

Logan glances up from unloading his bike and smiles, "Hey kid, miss me?"

Not giving him the satisfaction of a yes I just cross my arms and ask, "Where have you been?"

Frowning he says, "Sorry I didn't tell you I was leavin', but I was kinda rushed. Fury called and started bitching about wanting to relocate you to their headquarters."

"Fuck that bastard; he just wants to use me like Project X did."

He nods, "I know, and that's exactly what I told him. I told him he could go fuck himself and sit and spin, 'cause you're here to stay."

I grin, "Good."

He flips open one of the saddle bags on the bike and says, "I also made a little detour and found this."

He pulls out a book, very old and grime covered. "What is it?"

"Let' go inside, so I can take care of this shit and grab a cold beer and I'll show you."

My curiosity piqued I help him finish unloading his bike and then carry it all upstairs to his room. Glancing around he huffs and says, "Don't mind the mess; I don't really get many people comin' in here."

"Why do you drink? It never did anything for Creed, is it the same for you?"

Tossing some bottles into a small garbage can he says, "Oh it works a bit, if you drink enough."

Dropping the book on the bed he opens his closet revealing a small mini-fridge, "This here is our little secret, alright? Don't need Chuck or Jeanie findin' my stash."

I eye the fully stocked fridge and shrug, "Whatever you want, bub."

Popping the top of a brown bottle he points to the book, "Go ahead, take a look."

I sit down on his bed and pick up the book; it smells musty and somewhat familiar. The cover opens easily to reveal photos. It's a picture album…

The first is of a woman smiling with her hand up shielding her eyes from the sun. Recognizing the woman I look up at Logan, "It's my mother…"

He nods and sits down next to me, "I decided to head back up to the cabin to see if I could find anything else familiar and this was hidden under the mattress of the only bed in there."

He points to the next picture, "This was our wedding."

The image shows a younger and happier looking Logan in a suit kissing my mother in a simple white dress. The next couple pictures were of the two of them embracing in different settings, in one of them you can even see her black tail poking out from under the dress.

"You haven't changed much since then."

"The healing factor is like an anti-aging thing, I'm not even sure of how old I really am."

"So does that mean I'm gunna live an elongated life as well?"

He shrugs, "Your mom was the same way, so maybe."

I flip the page and see Logan carrying a small log on his shoulder while flipping off the camera. "You were building the cabin, right?"

He nods and I flip the page again to see them both standing happily on the new front porch with my mother placing on hand on her stomach. "Was she?"

"Yeah we just found out about a week before this."

I flip to the next page and find a picture of a baby with a pink ribbon tied into her black hair and holding a fuzzy black thing in her hand. "That's your mom's tail; you loved playing with it for some reason. You actually had a tiny one of your own, see?" He points to another picture with a smiling baby on a crib, looking up at the camera with a small black-furred tail curled up around her leg.

Flipping through the pictures I watch as the small baby grew into a small girl with tiny pointed teeth and cat's eyes. There's one picture where the little girl and her mother are both looking at the camera pretending to snarl with claws out.

"Do you remember all this?"

He shakes his head, finishing off his beer in one last swig, "I can remember a lot of it, but there are whole blank spots."

I run my finger down the edge of the Polaroid, "I wish I could remember more, it's mostly like a dream…"

There's pictures of Logan and my mother swinging me around as a child, making me "fly" as I had called it as well as a couple of Christmas pictures. "We celebrated Christmas?"

He nods, "Sure, I can't remember much of it, but I remember that your mother loved saving up to get you the best toys. See in that one you got a whole Playdoh set."

I glance at the picture he points to, trying to remember that occasion, but I could be looking at another child's life and feel the same connection.

He gets up and grabs another beer from his fridge and says, "You can keep it if ya want; early Christmas present."

I shake my head, "You have more memories and emotions tied to this, so you should keep it."

He frowns and I pass the book to him and he smiles, "I dunno kid, you seem to have some emotions here too." He wipes his thumb across my cheek and it comes away wet.

I frown; mad at myself for crying like that. I quickly wipe my eyes and look at the floor. He puts a hand on my shoulder and says, "Your emotions don't make you weak, Kim. In fact sometimes it takes a strong person to show anything at all."

I shrug and diverting the topic I ask, "So what about Christmas here? How do people celebrate it?"

He sighs and takes a swig of his beer, "Just like everyone else I guess. Most of the kids go home for a while and those who don't have homes to go to stay here and everybody works to make it a happy event."

"What do you do for Christmas?"

"Drink."

I shake my head and while rubbing my knuckles I try to think of something else to talk about. He finishes his beer and asks, "So how was the training with Cyke?"

"Well I kinda tweaked and thought I was in a situation with Wraith and some of his men and so I kinda failed the team work thing."

He pauses at the mini-fridge and looks at me, "Wait, what happened?"

I shrug, "Kitty thinks it was kinda like a flashback, but for the current situation. Cyclops turned into Wraith and I was trying to protect him and his men from the machines. I know it's stupid…"

He frowns and grabs a third beer, "Was he bein' a dick?"

"Yeah, he wasn't even gunna include me in the mission but Kitty said something and then as soon as he yelled at me to take out a couple sentinels I just snapped and went into attack mode."

He growls, "I knew it was a bad idea to put him in charge of Beta team… I'm gunna have to have a little chat with him again."

"Don't fight with him cause of me; I'll deal with him my own way."

"If you say so kiddo; but if he gives you anymore trouble, I'll be givin' him a piece of my mind."

I smile at his seriousness, "I think you'd have to get in line with Kitty and Kurt, they didn't seem too happy with him either."

He smirks at the mention of Kurt's name and then asks, "So did anything else happen while I was gone?"

Recalling the events of last night and this morning I frown, "There is one small issue that came up…"

He grabs a chair from the unused desk covered in bottles and sits near me, "You're not gunna become a tyke again are you?"

I frown and shake my head, "Thankfully, no. Remember back at the cabin I told you I was made to take drugs to curb the animal side and what not?"

He nods. "Well it turns out it was more than to just make sure I didn't flip out and kill everyone. I had what I initially thought was a nightmare last night, but it turns out it was a memory of me. I was not even human, Logan. My feral mutation had taken over…"

I clench my fist reliving the killing of that boy and Logan puts his beer down, "What happened?"

"I was an animal, I even looked like one. They had me in a cage and they put young or weak mutants in and watched me kill them. Then they put a chip in my brain to fix me and the injections were part of that too. They curbed my animal side, but things have been going a bit haywire recently. Hank thinks that the feral side might be resurfacing…"

He runs a hand through his hair, "Shit, kid… So the drugs they were injecting you with helped hold it off?"

I nod, "You mentioned that you go hunting and use the danger room to curb your animal. How bad has it gotten?"

He frowns, grabbing his beer and taking a long swig, "I've been real bad, completely gone with the beast taking over. I ran on instincts, and lived in the wilderness. It enjoyed violence and hunting… It's a dark place, kid."

I nod, understanding perfectly. "I can't become that again Logan. I need you to promise me, that if Hank can't find a way to fix me and if this chip ever stops working… You'll stop me right? I don't wanna live in some cage again and I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"Kim… I… Like I said before it ain't gunna come to that."

"I know what you think, but I'm an unknown, Logan. I can't even use another mutant's powers without nearly passing out from exhaustion and just the other day I could smell pheromones coming off of Gambit and Rogue. I could almost taste a rabbit hiding somewhere in the bushes near me… That isn't normal for me; if you can call anything I do normal. Please just promise me you'll make sure I do don't hurt anyone or end up in a cage?"

After a moment of silence he nods and says, "But before that happens I'll take ya out and show you how I deal with the animal."

"Deal."

He smiles sadly at me and then a ringing breaks the silence. He digs through his the pocket in his jeans and fishes out a cellphone. Flipping it open, he answers, "Yeah? Why? No, I'm back. Fine. Yeah, I'll be there in a bit. What? Yeah she's here with me. None of your business. Fine, tell Chuck we'll be down soon."

He closes the phone and I look at him curiously. "That was Storm; Chuck wants to talk to both of us."

He gets up and eyes the remainder of his bottle before chugging the rest. I get up as well and he says, "You want to go put that in your room?"

I glance at the photo album and shake my head, "You keep it here; it'll give me more of a reason to bug you." He smirks and then picks it up, clearing of a space on his closet shelf before setting it gently down.

"Alright, let's go see what Xavier wants." We leave his room and head downstairs to Xavier's office.

Almost everyone we passed greeted either Logon or I, something I don't know if I'll ever get used to.

Walking into the office we are greeted by Storm and Xavier. Xavier gives us that false smile he has perfected and says, "Logan, Kim; thank you for coming. I have a request to ask both of you."

Still uncomfortable being in his office since I read my file I shift nervously and ask, "Both? What do you need me for?"

He nods, "Yes, both of you. I have a rather important assignment for both of you. There is a mutant that Cerebro has picked up and I would like for you to go retrieve him."

Logan crosses his arms, "I thought we agreed that recruiting students would go to those who are better with kids and have a more 'public' attitude like Jean or Storm." Storm smiles, but remains silent.

Xavier places his fingers together and sighs, "This mutant is not a normal pick up Logan. His name is Isaac and seems to be another victim of Project X and is suffering from the damage he received at the same facility you were at and is in need of our assistance."

I shake my head, "I never met anyone named Isaac, I mean there were a lot of mutants there but I would know…"

I rack my brain for any memory of a kid named Isaac and Logan asks, "You said he was a victim of Project X, he's not like us, right?"

Xavier shakes his head, "His thoughts were chaotic but from what I could understand he was experimented on."

"So you think because we're both victims of the same thing that we'd be the best bet to go and bring him back here. Then what?"

Xavier smiles, "And then we help him of course."

"Well does you're Cerebro thing know what his mutation is?"

"I'm afraid not." Great, we get to go in blind…

But I'm really intrigued by the idea that Cornelius had another project that he was hiding. Logan sighs, "Where is he?"

"He seems to have traveled south from the Canadian facility into Montana. Storm has his last known coordinates and I'm sending her along to pilot the Blackbird, but I want initial contact to be made by you two. He might recognize one of you and that could help him trust you."

"Unless the boys at the facility made me train on him or even bring him in; then that makes me the bad guy. I think it'd better if I accompanied Logan in a different form so I look him over to make sure he wasn't one of the mutants the doc broke."

Xavier sighs, obviously impatient and nods, "If you wish to approach him differently, so be it. We are losing precious time, he is frightened, confused and in pain and he needs our help now."

We agree and quickly head down to the hangar, boarding the X-men's stealth jet. Storm brings it up through the basketball court and then speeds us towards our target.

While flying I notice Logan discreetly gripping the arms of his seat, must not enjoy flying that much. I grin enjoying his little display of weakness and then glance at Storm.

She's a mystery to me; she seemed to talk more back at the facility. I unfasten the seat belt and walk over to her at the controls, "Do you mind if I join you?"

She looks at me and says, "Sit down, I don't mind at all."

I sit in the co-pilot's seat and look over the controls, "This is quite the tech."

She nods, "Forge is a genius as you know."

"You seem to have a lot of them at the institute."

She chuckles, "Yes, Charles does draw the most interesting people to his cause."

"How did he get you?" She's silent for a moment and then says, "He helped me when I was young and so when he requested my help with this team I joined him."

"And it doesn't bother you to put your life in danger just to try and be friends with people who'd rather kill you than acknowledge your existence?"

"Sometimes the things we do reflect more upon who we are as a person than what we can achieve."

I raise an eyebrow, "I would hope that's not always the case."

She glances over at me and says, "Do you think Charles would have sent you on this mission if he thought you were too dangerous? At times it might not seem like it, but Charles knows what he is doing. He understands the happenings of events much better than anyone I know."

I shrug, "We'll see right? Now would you be willing to show me the basics of flying this thing? You never know when that particular knowledge may come in handy."

For the rest of the flight I sat at the copilot's seat while Storm showed me the various controls.

.

We stop near a small farm that looks like it's been abandoned for years.

"Well at least he picked a good place to hide out. Do we know what he looks like?"

Storm shakes her head, "The Professor said his mind was too chaotic to get any other information from it."

Logan, now back to his usual self, says, "Well let's go get the kid and get him back to the school."

I nod and shift into an average looking Caucasian, brunette. I figure, the more plain I look the less of a chance I have to set him off if he happens to be unstable.

Storm lowers the ramp, "I'll remain here; just use these if you need my assistance."

She hands us small communicators that you place in your ear. I place it in my ear and test it, "Can you hear me?"

She nods, "Good luck and be careful, he's very frightened. Who knows how he may react to seeing you."

I roll my shoulders and look at Logan, "Alright, let's go see if Xavier is right about this guy."

He grunts in agreement and we head down the ramp and start making our way across the overgrown field to the house. As we make our way to the house I catch a noise from inside and I glance and Logan to see if he heard it too.

He talks low saying, "I'm gunna head 'round back, you should go right up to the front door and knock or call for him. We don't want to scare him..."

I nod and we split up. Approaching the door I'm surprised it's still on its hinges; the rest of the house in in major disrepair. Not as bad as our old cabin, but the elements have not been kind to it.

I knock on the door frame, "Hello? Isaac?"

A voice calls out from inside, "Go away please."

"We're here to help you."

"I'm not interested."

I grip the handle of the door, "Can I come in?"

"NO! I- I mean no. Stay away."

I twist the handle and push the door open. "Isaac?"

"GO AWAY!"

He yells in pain and I hear a thud. Shit, now what? I use the communicator, "Logan, I think something's wrong with him. I'm gunna go move in the house and see if I can find him."

"Be careful, kid."

I move through what I assume used to be the living room and past the kitchen. Another yell points me to a hallway off of the living room. I spot Logan coming in through the kitchen door and head down the hallway.

"Isaac, my name is Kim. I'm here to help you. I know you're confused, we can help you understand your mutation."

Geez, listen to me, I sound like Xavier…

In a room off to my left I hear smashing glass and wood. I knock on the door, "Isaac, are you ok?"

No answer… Here goes nothing… I open the door and I get short look at a large, blue-eyed, dark haired guy yelling at the door before I get a fist in the stomach and go flying across the hall and through the wall.

I lie there for a moment in pain. Logan's voice comes over the comm, "What was that?"

"I found our guy. He's a big boy…"

I prop myself up on my knees and look through the hole in the wall into the room where Isaac is. His large frame is blocking the door and as soon as he sees me get up he growls and says, "Go away!"

He charges at me, "Shiiiiiiit!" I scramble backwards and just miss getting stomped on.

He goes to attack and then sniff and whips his head around spotting Logan sneaking up on him. Does he have amped up senses as well as strength? He growls at Logan and slams a fist into his shoulder causing Logan to fly backwards.

"Alright Bub, you're starting to get annoying."

I get up and while's still turned towards Logan I jump up on his back, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"You are going to calm down and listen to us. We are not here to hurt you."

He yells out and starts ramming into the walls backwards, smashing me in between. Plaster and dust starts filling the hall.

"Logan, help me get him down!" Logan charges his legs and he staggers.

"Come on big boy, you know you can't take both of us."

He snarls and then slams me into the wall again and falls through as it breaks. He stumbles backwards and I glance behind us in enough time to say, "Fuck." We go right through the large window and glass slices through my back and legs.

Outside I yell out as Isaac lands on top of me. I struggle to get him off of me and as he rolls of I snarl and shift back to my green self. "Ok punk, enough of this Hulk wannabe shit, you're comin' with me; one way or another."

He gets up and turns to look at me. As I stand up he freezes and his entire demeanor changes. The smell of fear starts to roll off him and he slowly starts to back up.

"Ok so you know who I am then. That's good, now are you gunna cooperate? Or do I have to get mean?" I pop my claws and he starts to whimper and then sits down and starts crying.

"Um Logan?"

He pokes his head through the window and look at the situation, "What happened?"

"I shifted and threatened him and he just turned into a big baby."

"They said he was unstable…"

I retract my claws and crouch down in front of him. "Are you gunna cool it long enough to talk to us like grownups or you gunna keep being emotional?"

Wait… "Hey Logan, could he be a feral mutant?"

"I dunno, normally you'd see them with some animalistic trait. Why?"

"He acts just like a feral; emotional, relies on instincts, and enhanced senses."

I shift and hold out a hand to Isaac, "Come on, big guy. I'm not going to hurt you and the guys at the facility aren't going to hurt you. The facility is gone, I torched it."

He stops crying and looks at me and then he grabs his face and screams. I back up and exchange a worried look with Logan.

He drops to all fours and then suddenly something bursts from his back in a mist of blood and gore. His clothing already had a hole in it so that remained intact. His whole body seemed to steam and then after a few more horrific moments we stared at the shaking, panting figure on all fours framed by huge and bloody bat wings.

"Isaac?" He looks up and I frown at the change in his figure.

He's leaner and has jet black eyes and large bat-like ears. "What the hell? That has gotta be the weirdest mutation I've seen in a while."

He smiles up at us, "Hi, I'm Isaac."

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE:<strong> If you haven't yet you should really check out the drawing and animation of Kim/ Mimik done by the amazing Suburban Coyote on Deviant Art.

Check it out at: suburbancoyote. deviantart. c o m (remove the spaces)

Also I have a drawing of Isaac up on my own Deviant Art page at: xmikrebylex. deviantart. c o m (remove the spaces)


	23. Recruitment for the Cause

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my Mimik and Isaac) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"So can you explain what the hell just happened?"<p>

Logan offers Isaac a hand and he struggles to his feet.

Now that's he's not trying to pummel me I can get a better look at him...

He looks to be dressed in dirty and torn, nonspecific military clothes with boots, slacks, and a long-sleeved shirt. He's also wearing a hooded vest over top of the shirt. The back of the shirt and vest have a hole cut into it to allow for the wings. His teeth are pointed, but thinner than normal. His hair his short and dark brown and his skin is very pale; like he hasn't seen much daylight.

He cringes as he tries to lift his wings, "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

He look at me and a small surge of fear rushes off of him, "Hello again."

"You seem to know me but I have no idea who you are."

He nods, "They told me that I wouldn't have to worry about you again, it must be that they altered your memories of me. It's not surprising actually knowing the secrecy they kept around me."

"Ok, so how did you end up at the facility?"

Logan puts a hand on my shoulder, "Maybe we should take this conversation back to the Blackbird; Storm's getting anxious."

I frown and then nod. Looking at our bloody companion I say, "So we actually came here to pick you up. There's this school that helps mutants learn to control their powers. I've been living there since I escaped. They're good people and they can help you."

He looks from me to Logan, "So if I didn't come willingly you would have forced me to go?"

Logan cracks his shoulder, "Until we could be sure you aren't a danger to others around you; yes."

Isaac shrugs in defeat, "Fine, I'll go with you, but only because I owe for saving me."

I look at him confused. He gives me a petulant smile, "I was in the facility, the fire you claim to have set is what got me out of there. So I guess if it wasn't for you I would still be stuck in the cage down in the basement."

We start walking back across the field towards the Blackbird and Storm. After a few moments of silence I continue with my interrogation, "Why were you or the other you so afraid of me? And what the hell is that other… form?"

His ears twitch and he says, "The other form was still me, think of it like a split personality, except it's my mutation. You were right; I'm a feral mutant, if the whole looking like a bat thing didn't give that away. But I'm in this form as long as I don't get emotional; once I get pissed off or upset the animal side takes over and I'm become the other form."

"So you can only act normal when you look like the animal and vice versa?"

He nods and hesitates a bit when he sees the jet, "So where is this school of yours?"

"In New York."

He adjusts his wings so they wrap around him like a cloak, "I hate flying…"

I smirk and shake my head. For someone who claims to have been locked up at the facility he doesn't seem too fucked up… Isaac follows up on to the Blackbird and Logan introduces him to Storm who smiles warmly at says, "We are very glad you agreed to come back with us."

"I didn't know that I had much of a choice."

Storm smiles again, this time to hide her worry, "I'm sure you'll grow to like the institute. Kim has been adapting to life there quite well."

I roll my eyes and sit on one of the seats on the side of the jet while Logan takes one of the center seats behind the controls. Storm closes the ramp and then takes her place in the pilot's seat. Isaac looks around for a moment and then sits next to me, fidgeting at first to get his wings settled properly.

Storm looks back and asks, "Ready?" Isaac nods and Storm starts to get the Blackbird into the air.

After a moment of him staring at me he says, "To answer your other question; everyone was afraid of you. I was made to watch videos of your missions and your trips to the cutting board. I was basically trained to fear you. That's why you got such a response from the animal side; wherever you were sent pain followed. I was still under the impression that you were their soldier and thought they sent you to bring me back."

"I ain't ever going back there. Wraith and Cornelius are both dead so there isn't anyone left to make me come back either."

He frowns; a flash of sadness passing over his face, "You killed Dr. Cornelius?" I shake my head, "He had committed suicide before I got there. I just destroyed his labs making sure all his serums and formulas went with him."

He looks down at his dirty hands and says, "But you would have killed him if he had been alive right?"

"Yes, that bastard made me into the freak I am now." I show him a bare arm and then allow the scars to appear, under all the ones I got from fights and bullet wounds were the pristine surgical lines that Cornelius made, "I was his little toy, he cut me up sometimes just for the hell of it. I'm glad that sick fuck is dead."

I shift my skin back to its smooth green color. "So did he experiment on you too?"

He nods, "He made me into what I am as well. Father was very proud of that fact…"

"Father?"

"Yes, Dr. Cornelius was my father."

"Wait, hold up. Cornelius didn't have kids; he was too obsessed with this work to bother with women."

Isaac shakes his head, "Apparently not. After my mother died when I was 14 he came and took me in. A year later I was his guinea pig for a new procedure he developed based on the work he did on you."

I lean my head back and try to wrap my head around the fact that one of the men that haunt my nightmares was a father, even if the son of a bitch experimented on his son. I twitch my tail in frustration and Isaac says, "He deserved what he got, with the number of people he killed…"

I grind my teeth and try to not think of all the shit that bastard has done to me. He leans back and says, "So what exactly is this place you're taking me to like?"

I catch Logan watching us and I shift in my seat. "It's a decent place, you won't be coming under the same circumstances I did, so I'm sure you'll be fine."

"What circumstances?"

"I'm a killer, they don't approve of murder. Apparently violence is only ok when you're protecting humans…" I glance at Logan who's looking at his hands and flexing them and frowning.

Isaac is silent for a moment and then says, "Most of that you didn't have a choice over." I smirk, "Most of it, but some of it I had fun with; killing Wraith for one."

Isaac shrugs, "I never met him, but from all the videos I saw I can tell he deserved any pain you made him suffer." I nod.

He shifts his wings and asks, "So we're both orphans now huh?" I frown and shake my head, "My father is still quite alive."

"You know who he is?"

I point my tail at Logan, "You recently punched him down a hallway."

His jaw drops and he looks between us, "Really? Your dad is _THE_ Wolverine?"

I pop my claws, "You see the similarities?" "But… Wow, that's… Wow."

I grin, glancing at Logan who is hiding a slight smile. He looks at Logan and then over at Storm, "So who's your mom then?" My smile fades and so does Logan's.

"Unfortunately she was killed when Logan and I were first brought in when I was four."

Isaac immediately looks down, "Oh sorry… Well we have something in common then…" I shrug, "I hardly remember her; too much got fucked with in here." I point to my head with my tail.

He shifts his wings, "Father made me watch a lot of the experiments he performed on you and the others, so I understand…"

"So what exactly did he do to you?" Isaac tenses and looks at the floor, anger starting to radiate off of him.

"Hey, you said you can't get to emotional right? Just forget that question." He shakes his head and takes a few deep breathes, calming down.

After a tension filled moment he looks at me and says, "He made me into a mutant."

"What?"

"I was a normal human kid before he did anything to me, no sign of the X gene. His new procedure made him able to turn humans into mutants and I was his first test subject."

I glance up at Logan and Storm wide-eyed and I see concern reflected on both their faces. "I didn't know that that was even possible. And you said he was able to come up with this because of experiments on me?" He nods. "Shit… I'm so sorry Isaac…"

"You had no control over it. I'm happy that father and his work are gone so no one else has to become a monster…"

I shake my head, I don't even know if there is anything I can say to him to express what I'm feeling. He chuckles, "Freaks of a feather fight together huh?"

I frown and look at him and see that he's grinning. "How can you smile?"

He shrugs, "If I don't keep things in perspective and keep calm I turn into Mr. big and handsome." He smiles again at his funny.

"Keep it in perspective? You were turned into a mutant by your father… What's worse than that?"

He stops smiling and looks at the floor and quietly he says, "Well, I could be dead, I could be still in the facility, or I could be you…"

He glances up at me with a sad look and shrugs as if to say, "It's true…"

I look at the floor of the blackbird and sit in silence for about an hour before Isaac talked again. "So you said this place is a school, does that mean I'll have to start taking classes again?"

I looked to Storm who glanced back at him, "Did you receive any schooling while in the facility?"

"Father taught me a little, but most times when he wasn't experimenting on me, he was working in his lab or with Kim. I haven't been to school since I left home."

"Well then, when you're ready you might be tested to find out your education level so you can finish schooling."

He smiles a bit, "And I'd be in classes with other mutants?" She nods and returns her attention to flying the jet.

Isaac looks at me and asks, "So are you taking classes there already?"

I shake my head, "I've already surpassed high school education, but I have been training with the older students so maybe I can be an official X-Man."

I catch Logan forming small smile at that. Proud of his little girl is he? I roll my eyes before returning my attention to Isaac.

He shifts his wings a bit and asks, "Are there any other mutants there with visible mutations, like us?"

"Yep, there's quite a few actually. I think I've even seen one guy with white feathery wings. He doesn't seem to be a student though. There are kids of different colors, with scales and fur and spikes and what not."

He nods, thinking, "That's cool. So it's definitely not like the facility then?"

I laugh, "Not even close. The only thing you have to fear is waking up late. There's no having to worry if you are gunna get shot in the head for misbehavior or cut up for 'science.' And you get to eat and sleep like a normal person. I can't remember a time when I got to eat three meals a day before coming to Xavier's."

"I was never punished the way you were. If I misbehaved father grounded me from watching TV."

I frown at him, "You had TV?!" He nods, "And I never had to meet Wraith. Father made sure that I was kept safe seeing as I was his only successful human mutation."

I crossed my arms and glared ahead of me. What a lucky little bastard… Sure he got turned into a mutant, but if that's the only pain I had to suffer I would have been happy as a fucking clam.

He touches my shoulder, "If it makes you feel any better I was the one who suggested that they move you into the soldier barracks for good behavior while Wraith was gone."

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, raising an eyebrow, "Really?" He nods and I sigh, my jealousy fizzling out. "Well thanks I guess."

He shrugs, "You were the only other mutant I was allowed to see, even if it was via cameras. I got bored watching you pace that cell for four years."

He watched me in my cell? I wonder how much of me he's actually seen then…

My thoughts are interrupted by a beeping noise coming from the controls up by Storm. She glances back at Logan, "We seemed to have company Logan. Another jet just started following us."

Logan unbuckles and moves to the seat next to Storm, "Are they trying to make contact at all?" She shakes her head and points to what I think is a radar screen, "No, but they are gaining on us fast."

The blackbird starts shaking and I suddenly feel stiff. "Logan?" He flexes his hand, "It's Magneto…"

Storm lets go of the controls, "He's forcing us to land."

"Where are we?"

She looks at the controls, "Wisconsin."

Great, still too far from the school... Isaac looks at us, "Who is Magneto."

"From what I have put together he's some old guy who can control metal. He leads the opposing mutant force to Xavier's school."

We land with a thud and I get up. "What's the plan?"

Storm looks back at me, "We have no choice but to see what it is he wants… Logan and Isaac should stay in the Blackbird, Kim if you would like to come with me."

Last time I saw this guy he locked up my entire skeleton, this time I don't know if I'll be able to fling him back like I did before. I hold up a finger to Isaac, "Just sit here for a bit, hopefully we'll be back in the air soon."

I'm gunna be pissed if this encounter goes South… And Creed better not show his face or I swear I'll fucking kill him.

Storm lowers the ramp and I follow her outside, scanning the area for an ambush. I still feel stiff so that means Magneto is still hanging around.

I glance out across an empty road to a line of trees, pointing to a patch of them I say, "They're right there, here they come."

And as I finish my sentence a small group of people emerge, walking towards us. I wait as Magneto (dressed in some weird purple cape and dumb helmet), the blue woman (bare-ass naked), and two others cross the road to meet us. One of the others is hunched over in a white and green outfit, has greenish skin, and smells revolting. The other seems oddly familiar, dressed in a green costume with white hair and has a close resemblance to Magneto.

The air around Storm seems to crackle and fill with ozone as she stands straighter and tries to look intimidating. Magneto smiles and says, "Ah Storm, what a pleasure to see you."

I cross my arms and he moves his attention to me. "And I don't believe I ever learned your true name…"

Knowing he wasn't referring to my birth name I say, "Mimik."

He smiles wider, "Mimik, a lovely name."

I sneer and then glance at the blue woman, Mystique I think her name was, and I nod. She did help me out after all. I ignore the other two, returning my attention back to the purple clad magnet man. Storm also crosses her arms, "What do you want?"

He waves to the blackbird, "I would just like to speak with your new friend."

He looks at me again, "And perhaps we could also have a little chat?"

The white haired guy glances between me and Magneto, "Father are you sure you want to-" Magneto cuts him off with a motion, "So my dears if you would be willing to cooperate, this shouldn't take too much of your time."

I hate it when people hide their real intentions with sugar coated words. I lash my tail and say, "I don't think either of us are feeling particularly chatty today."

He raises an eyebrow, "Oh?" He makes a subtle glance at the guy with the white hair. Suddenly he's gone, moving so fast I just felt the breeze as he sped by. I turn and growl as I see him emerge, slightly slower with a frightened Isaac in tow.

Isaac breaks free of the fast one's grip and rushes back over to Storm and I, "Kim, what do they want?"

Magneto answers, "We would like you to join our cause." Isaac looks at me and then him, "What cause?"

Magneto grins, "To help mutants everywhere. The Brotherhood of Mutants just wants to ensure that we, Homo superior, gain our proper place in this world; above the Homo sapiens."

Isaac frowns at him, "Is that what this school, I'm going to does?"

Magneto shakes his head, "Xavier's school wants mutants and humans to live in peace together, but with humans there is no peace. We must fight them and ensure that they can't hurt another mutant again."

Pretty speech and if it weren't for my current circumstances I'd almost be inclined to join him. Humans deserve to get beaten down a few pegs. But I also don't like be bullied; in fact I really HATE it when people try to bully me into doing what they want.

Isaac shakes his head, "Well then, no thanks. I think I'd rather go to the school; peace with humans is a good thing. You sound like you just wanna kill them all."

Storm waves a hand to Isaac, "There you have it. If that was all you wanted, I think we shall be leaving now."

Magneto's face changes and he says, "I don't believe he quiet understands my offer. Quicksilver, Toad, Mystique."

The short one, Toad, giggles maniacally and jumps up onto the Blackbird. Isaac starts to hyperventilate as Mystique tackles Storm and Magneto begins to rise into the air. I hear another giggle and look up just in time to get smacked in the face by a wet, slimy tongue. I wipe my face off, disgusted and pop my claws, snarling at the disgusting mutant.

Isaac makes a noise, "Isaac, are you going to be able to calm down?" He goes wide-eyed and I can see his eyes changing color.

"Shit! Sorry, bub, but this is gunna hurt." I punch him in the face and he drops.

"Logan! Get your ass out here and help me!" I slam my fist into the fast one, Quicksilver, who's running around in circles, jabbing punches at Storm and I.

He goes down like a sack of potatoes and I start dragging Isaac back up the ramp, trying not to tear his wings as the Toad gets launched into some bushes by Storm's winds.

Logan gets as far as the edge of the ramp, claws extended, before we are both frozen in place. Fuck! I cringe as I do the same thing I did back at the cabin and send Magneto and the other two men, who were wearing metal, back across the road.

Storm calls down lightning to electrocute Mystique and I flinch, apparently electrocution still makes me nervous...

Still using the modified version of Magneto's power I get both Logan and I mobile again while Storm finishes getting Isaac on the jet. She raises the ramp and I hurry to get in, dropping quickly into a seat behind the set at the controls. Already feeling like I'm going to pass out I tell Storm, "Get this thing in the air. I can keep them off for a bit."

Storm moves into gear and Logan puts Isaac on a bunk. I can feel a pull on the jet and I struggle not to throw up as this use of power drains me. The jet lifts off and I start to feel my nose begin to bleed.

Suddenly Magneto's pull disappears and I slump back into the seat.

Logan turns and look at me, "You alright kid?"

Shakily I wipe the blood off my face and nod. Wounds on the back of my hand catch my eye and I examine them. The holes where my blades cut through my skin haven't healed yet, weird.

A sharp pain shoots from my hands and throughout my body, recalling that urge to vomit. I grit my teeth and close my eyes, breathing deeply, and as suddenly as the pain came it was gone.

Opening my eyes I meet Logan's worried look and force a smirk, "So that was an interesting little occurrence. Care to explain why he decided to attack of all of a sudden?"

Running a hand through his hair he sighs, "Bucket-head can't seem to take no for an answer. How he found out about Isaac is what worries me."

"Is there a traitor at the mansion?"

Storm shakes her head, "The professor would know if someone was working for Magneto."

"Well he found out somehow."

I lean my head back and listen to Logan and Storm discussing the possible scenarios and after a few minutes I doze off.


	24. Becoming A Monster

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just Mimik and Isaac) and I make no money from this. Enjoy! The new cover image contains drawings of Mimik, Nightcrawler and Isaac consecutively credited to; artist and writer The SuburbanCoyote, the online artist Andie Tong, and myself.

* * *

><p>A hand on my shoulder startles me awake and I sit up immediately preparing to stab the owner of said hand.<p>

After a brief moment of panic I realize it's just Logan, claws out to deflect mine. "Sorry."

I lean back and notice Storm is gone and the jet isn't moving. "Are we back?"

"Yeah and the kid won't move without you."

I glance over at Isaac who's standing near the ramp watching us. I go to get up and find all my muscles have turned to jelly. Silently I ask Logan for help and he helps me to stand and then I put an arm around his shoulder and he helps me out of the jet with Isaac following closely behind us.

In the bay Jean and Xavier are waiting for us. I glance behind me at Isaac, "Isaac this is Professor Xavier he owns the school and the red head is Jean, one of his older students."

He seems to puff himself up and walks over to Xavier to shake his hand, "I'm Isaac Cornelius."

Xavier shakes his hand and at the name gives me a brief glance.

"Well if you guys are all peachy I think I should go talk to Beast."

Xavier nods, "I'll give Isaac a tour of the mansion and we'll meet you for dinner."

Logan and I walked out and as I glanced behind me I saw Isaac watching me with a look that accused me of abandoning him. He'll live, or Xavier is gunna end up with a big guy tearing up his mansion. Either way, he's not my problem right now.

.

As we enter the med lab Beast is talking to a student I don't recognize. She's a dark haired, tan girl probably around 15. She looks up; eyes going wide as she watches me limp in with Logan. Beast follows her gaze and then says, "It would seem we will have to continue our conversation another time Amara."

She nods and the hurries out of the lab. I sit down and force a smile at Beast, "Hi again."

Logan leans up against a wall and watches, nonchalantly. Beast rolls a chair over and sits down in front of me, "The retrieval went well I take it?"

"We got the target, ran into a little interference on the way back though."

"Oh?"

Logan answers for me, "Bucket head and his dogs decided they wanted to try recruiting our newest members. Kim chucked his ass at least 60 yards."

Beast eyes me with disbelief; I shrug, grimacing at the effort. "I don't like being told what to do, I guess. Teenage rebellion and whatnot…"

He smirks and asks, "So I assume he did not take your initial refusal with much grace."

"Grace went out the window; I got smacked in the face with a frog guy's tongue… He deserved to have his own powers used against him."

Beast suddenly sits straighter with interest, "And how did you use Magneto's power to your advantage?"

"Just like I did back at my old home, I reversed the polarity of the power that he was using against me and I launched him and his goons. Keeping his hold off the jet was a different matter…"

I show him the back of my and the still bleeding wounds, "And I bet the one's on my back are still open too." Out of the corner of my eye I see Logan nod. Beast frowns, rubbing his chin in thought. "Fascinating…"

"Yeah, real interesting…"

Beast rolls himself over to his desk and grabs something. Rolling back towards me I see it's my file from the facility. He puts on some glasses and begins flipping quickly through it. While waiting for him to finish perusing, I lean back, my body screaming to just stop moving and rest.

"Hmm… Well it would seem that this may have something to do with it. Did you know your mimicking ability was just a side effect of experimentation?"

"I thought it was the intended result of an experiment to unlock a dormant X-gene."

"Well not exactly, your ability to shape shift was the desired result, the mimicry came about from that experiment in combination with the radiation and other chemicals they were using on you."

"So what exactly is happening? In layman's terms if you can."

"Well if things are progressing as they are it may mean that you may be losing your ability."

"What?!" He frowns and nods, "The lack of chemicals along with the system shock started by the electrical device may have triggered deterioration. This would explain why you can't do as much as you are accustomed to and why the use of that power is causing your other mutations to react adversely."

"Shit, so I won't be able to copy powers at all pretty soon?"

He nods. I grin, "Good riddance; it's been nothing but a pain in the ass from the start."

It's just one more step towards normalcy… Beast and Logan share a worried look over my head.

"So if I keep trying to use my diminishing powers I might end up dead?"

Beast rolls away putting the file back on his desk, "I don't believe so; as long as you aren't in a dangerous situation if you try using them again. I would suggest refraining from any use at all and just let it fade away, but being an X-Man makes life a little unpredictable." Logan nods in agreement.

"Well until my healing kicks back in can you wrap me up Doc, don't need to get any stains on the carpets."

"Of course, I apologize that should have been my first priority." I shrug, it's not like I haven't sat there bleeding out before…

He began to wrap my wounds in bandages, not bothering with sewing anything because he said my healing is already starting to kick in, but it's moving at a much slower pace.

He gave the analogy f a computer starting back up, needs a bit to warm up before it'll run efficiently or whatever.

Logan just stands there against the wall, pretending to be serious and stoic about the situation, but I can tell he's worried, which is an odd feeling. Beast finishes taping up my back as Gambit walks in, "Logan de Professor would like to talk to you."

I turn, quickly, to face him, "Is it about Isaac? He didn't tweak again did he?"

Gambit shakes his head, "No, de boy is fine mon chere. De Professor just want to discuss de pick up wit him."

Logan grunts, "I'll be up after I've helped Kim upstairs."

Gambit grins, "Gambit can take care of Kim, mon ami. You go on." He winks his red and black eye at me.

Rolling my eyes at Logan's growl I say, "Go on, and make sure Isaac doesn't go all big and bad."

Muttering to himself Logan walks out. I swear I heard something about the Cajun's hands being removed and relocated to somewhere much more unpleasant.

Still grinning Gambit offers a hand, "If you are done mon chere, Gambit can take you back up to your room, you would like to change out of dose clothes, no?"

The devious grin earned him a flat glare.

"Gambit just trying to be considerate chere."

I roll my eyes and take his hand he helps me up and I cringe slightly as my whole body feels like it is on fire.

Beast frowns, "Have you regained any energy at all?" "A bit, but I still feel like I got ran over by a mac truck carrying a whale."

I go to put my arm around Gambit's shoulder as I had done earlier with Logan when I realize it'll just be more of a pain in the ass. "You're too tall."

"Gambit tinks dat maybe you just too short."

"5'3" is a perfectly normal height for a female."

He holds up his hands in front of him, "No need to get upset chere. You just like your daddy, he have a SHORT temper too."

I go to pop a claw just to emphasize my point when I remember the bandages. Sighing I give up the argument, "Are you gunna help me or not."

"Anyting for you mon chere."

Before I could protest he quickly picks me up and holds me in his arms. Beast laughs at my angry glare and has to step back to avoid a smack from my tail.

"Can we just get to my room as fast as possible? I would rather not be seen like this." Beast chuckles, "If I thought you would listen I would suggest you stay here until you have recovered more. But alas you are far too much like your father. Although I don't think Logan would ever allow himself to be carried in Gambit's arms."

I cross my arms and glare at him. He shrugs and Gambit says, "Shall we go now chere?"

I nod, still pouting. We leave the med lab and he takes me upstairs via the elevator. This is humiliating; he's too tall to walk properly with. I swear that bald jackass must've planned this.

We almost made it without being seen, but as we were going down the hall to my room Kitty, Boom-Boom, and Jubilee walk out of their room chatting away. Once they spot me and Gambit they go silent, mouths agape.

After a few seconds of silence they burst out laughing. Between gasps for air Kitty says, "Kim, you look like an angry little kid who's being sent to bed."

I growl and after a second of hesitation they start right back up laughing. Gambit walks by the girls and says, "Gambit heard dat dere is a new mutant boy in de mansion, meybe he tell him you all wear culottes mamie?"

Kitty seemed to be the only one who understood French and she blanched. He puts me down outside my door and winks at me again. "Gambit wait here while you change."

I unlock my door as I hear Kitty whisper to the others what Gambit had said and as I close the door I hear Jubilee say, "You wouldn't dare!"

I slowly make my way across my room to my dresser and pull out a pair of jeans and a random t-shirt. I glance at the door and grin; I'm gunna make him wait for a while. I gather up my clothes and toiletries and head into the bathroom, locking the door leading to the girls' room and hop in the shower to wash off all the blood and dirt.

.

Opening the door I smirk at Gambit leaning against the wall next to my door. "Wasn't too long was I?"

"Nope, just on time."

I raise an eyebrow and he says, "Come one chere, Xavier is waiting for you for dinner."

He offers a hand and I put up my own, "I can walk this time." He shrugs and grins, "You know de way den."

We make our way down to the dining room where I can smell some sort of seasoned meat and cooked vegetables among other foods. There is also the din of a bunch of students in there all talking and stuffing their mouths. At the door Gambit stops and says, "Gambit don't eat wid de kiddies, he have a date wid Rogue he has to get ready for anyways."

"Thanks for the help, however annoying it was." He walks off chuckling.

I try to slip into the room unnoticed but unfortunately a certain fuzzy blue mutant spots me, "Kim! Hey, sit here!"

I wave stiffly at him and then look for Xavier who is sitting with Storm, Logan, and Isaac at a separate table. I point to that table and Kurt frowns.

I make a way through the students; some of them were staring at me, but most just ignored me. Glad to see I'm no longer the new buzz, most were talking about the mysterious new mutant sitting with Xavier.

As soon as I get to the table Isaac grins and says, "Kim! You look a lot better!" "I heal."

Xavier waves a hand at an empty seat, "Please sit, have some dinner."

A plate is already piled with food and suddenly my stomach growls. Sitting I eye Xavier with his constant pleased silence. I wonder if that ever bothers anyone else?

Isaac breaks the silence at the table by saying, "This place is awesome Kim! You didn't mention that there were video games and TV! I haven't seen a gaming console since I was 14!"

"So you like it here then?" He nods, "And you were right, no one seems to care that I look like a freak."

I twitch my tail and glance at the groups of kids all eating or talking. "Yeah we all fit in just peachy."

Xavier buts in, "You are not a freak, you are a human being, we have discussed this Isaac."

Jeez, he's been here only a few hours and is already getting lectured…

He shrugs and continues, "I might do a year of classes here to get a high school diploma and then who knows." He leans in close, "They said that the doctor here may even be able to reverse my mutation, make me human again."

I saw the desperate hope in his eyes and I didn't say anything. My mutations seem to be going crazy maybe his will fade too…

Xavier looks at me, the same thoughts flashing across his face.

"Kim, I would also like you and Isaac to begin therapy sessions. I would like to help you deal with these traumatic events and maybe even recover some lost memories on your part Kim."

Ah ha, so that's his goal… "No thanks, last time you went near my head I got stuck as a four year old and found out that one of the men who tortured me my entire life was my uncle."

Isaac nearly chokes on his food, "Uncle? Who?"

"Did you ever meet Sabertooth?"

"No, but… Wait HE'S your uncle?!" His raised voice draws attention from the nearby diners who all begin to whisper among themselves about who he was talking about.

I'm sure most of them already know the dark parts of my life thanks to the wonderfully charming Cyclops.

"Yeah, that bas- jerk is my uncle." A sharp look from Xavier had me censoring myself.

Isaac looks at me in awe, "So Wolverine is your dad, Sabertooth is your uncle… Are you related to any other infamous mutants?"

I shrug, "Wouldn't know." Seeing an opportunity Xavier butts in, "If you would let me help you we could work together to recover your lost memories."

I glare at him and stab a piece of broccoli. I am not going to get angry… I swear this crippled asshole is trying to piss me off though.

Again silence falls over the table as Isaac munches away on his food and Xavier keeps glancing at me with an annoyed yet concerned look. Storm, who's been quiet the whole time, finishes her food and silently slips away.

Shouting from the other end of the room gets my attention and I see a small colored ball being tossed up and down Kurt and Kitty's table.

The mutants are having fun tossing it between each other until it gets tossed a little too hard, flying across the room and nailing Isaac in the head.

Kurt bamfs over to retrieve the ball and startles Isaac, who's eyes go wide in fear. I watch as he struggles to calm down but his adrenaline has gotten the better of him.

Grabbing Kurt's arm I say, "Way to go fuzzball. We need to get him down to the danger room. Now!" Isaac bends over in pain and I push Kurt towards him, who places his hand on Isaac's growing shoulder and teleports us both.

Isaac lands hard on his knees and says "Run…" I point to the observation room and say, "Go get Xavier and until he's either back to normal or unconscious; don't come back in here."

Isaac yells in pain like he did back at his hideout and I watch as his wings fold in on themselves, disappearing.

I glare at Kurt who looks upset, "Did I stutter?" He shakes his head and bamfs.

I hope he's not in an angry mood; I'm still not up to par. Isaac goes quiet and I can see he's done transforming.

He growls and gets up, "Hey bub, you ok?" He looks around at the metal walls of the Danger Room before redirecting his attention to me.

A mix of emotions floods through him; the strongest being fear and anger. "Isaac, I'm a friend remember?"

He yells wordlessly and charges. Damn it! I guess all logic goes out the window when he's like this and he's not terrified of me like before…

I duck his attack, but he whips around and I get slammed in the shoulder, sending me back several yards. He chuckles and charges again.

We dance back and forth like this for a few minutes and his attacks keep connecting. I'm gunna end up black and blue after this…

I'm trying not to hurt him, hence the dodging.

After a particularly painful punch I struggle back to my feet and growl at him, wiping blood off my lip. "Listen bub, you need to cool it before I have to do something you're gunna regret."

The comm crackles to life with Cyclops' voice, "We're up here, what do you want us to do?"

Like an idiot I glance up at the control room to see three shadows before being thrown halfway across the room.

I struggle to my feet and say, "I don't give a fuck what you do, but I'm not gunna last too much longer as his punching bag. Last time I just scared the shit outta him."

Cyclops is silent a moment, "How do you propose we do that?"

I nearly miss another flying fist and shout, "How the fuck should I know? Just think of something!"

I duck under a kick and sweep my foot under his leg, dropping Isaac. Unfortunately that just pissed him off more.

While waiting for Xavier and One-Eye to come up with something I just continue evading Isaac and his well-aimed punches.

.

"We have to something Professor!"

"Just give me a moment Kurt; I am trying to break through his mental defenses. It would seem that his mutation gives him a natural mental barrier…"

Kurt paces back and forth as Scott watches Kim duck and sidestep Isaac, "She is slowing down."

Xavier nods, "She is still recovering from the power struggle with Magneto. There… His strongest surface fear that I can surmise is that of the facility they were in."

Scott nods and begins programming the Danger Room as Kurt takes his place watching Kim. "Professor, she's going to get seriously hurt! Why did you even let him in a room full of people if he was capable of THAT?"

"Now is not the time. Scott?"

"Here we go." He activates the hologram and both Kim and Isaac freeze as they watch the facility form around them.

"I could only program in what parts the Blackbird recorded…" They were in the courtyard, lit by the false daylight.

Both of them have a horrified look on their face. Isaac recovered from the shock first and growls at Kim and shouts, "Lies! You Bitch!"

He charges her and Kurt, seeing that she would have no time to react, teleports down there directly in the path of Isaac's fist.

Xavier and Scott watch as the blue mutant flies back into a wall and crumples to the ground, unmoving. Kim stares at Kurt for a moment before turning back to Isaac visibly shaking with anger.

"You wanna play? How bout this then?" She shifts, her form shimmering and becoming larger and more masculine.

Isaac stops mid motion, mouth agape as he sees Colonel John Wraith standing before him. Kim/Wraith stomps up to Isaac and grabs him by his stretched shirt, "What the hell do you think you are doing mutie? Does this look like a mutie day camp where you can go wander around as you please, doing whatever the fuck you want?"

Isaac gulps and drops to his butt staring at the image of the man in front of him. Kim/Wraith sneers and pats a gun on his hip, "Do we need to go visit the interrogation room? I'm sure you know what that is."

Isaac shakes his head and begins to hyperventilate. He yells in pain and rolls over as his wing burst from his back, spattering Kim and the ground with blood, as he begins to steam, shrinking.

Isaac rolls back over and as soon as Kim sees that he is completely normal she shifts back. Seeing her face Xavier looks at Scott and says, "We need to go down there."

Scott nods, "She looks ill professor." Xavier nods as Scott disable the hologram and they hurry to the elevator.

.

Isaac looks up at me and his horror changes to relief as he sees me shift. He falls back, sighing in relief.

I feel numb and yet very sick…

A moan from behind me is a welcome distraction from the war being waged in my head right now.

I turn and see Kurt getting to his feet, his nose bleeding and swollen.

He grins painfully and says, "Dib we win?"

I could tell that he is a little dazed and I don't know why but I just got really mad at him, maybe it's my brains way of shutting out the recent horror.

"YOU JACKASS! Why the hell would you just put your face in front of him?"

He looks taken aback, "But I was trying to help you!"

"By getting knocked out and distracting me? Some help!"

He gets defensive, "It's not my fault he got all big anb mean!"

"Actually it was! If you hadn't of been acting like a child and then scared him then we wouldn't have been in that situation and I wouldn't have had to become that- that monster!"

"What are you talking about?"

I snarl and say, "I need to go and take another shower before I throw up."

I storm towards the doors that are now opening and brush past Xavier and Cyclops holding onto my anger to keep my thoughts in check.

I rush when my skin begins to go cold and clammy and starts to feel like it's crawling, making my stomach do flips.

.

Xavier and Scott watched Kim rush down the hall, obviously upset. She rounds the corner and they redirect their attention to the two young men now standing a few feet apart glaring at each other.

"Way to go blue boy, you pissed her off."

"I dib not! Ips your fault! If you hadn't ob changed we woubn't be here right now!"

"Do you even know what she just did?"

"Beat you up for one."

"The room changed into the facility courtyard and to scare me back she changed into Wraith."

Kurt goes silent and sensing a lapse in the tension Scott and Xavier step in to separate the boys. Scott escorts Isaac to the med lab to meet Beast and have him look over Isaac to see if there was any way to prevent the changes.

Xavier stops Kurt from following, handing him a handkerchief to clean his bloody face. "Before we have Hank fix your nose I want to talk to you, Mr. Wagner."

"I'm sorry for acting wibout thinking Professor, I just got worrieb."

Xavier nods, "I understand that, but you must remember these two; Isaac and Kimberley, are both people who have had their lives radically traumatized. Although Kimberley has the deepest issues, Isaac has strong emotional issues as well. These issues are possibly why his mutation has such a strong connection to emotions."

"I understand Professor."

He frowns, "Then you realize what this incident has done to Kim's progress?"

Kurt looks at Xavier, confused. Xavier sighs, knowing he wouldn't fully comprehend what just occurred. "I just ask that you help us keep an eye on Kim and ensure that she understands that if she needs it we are here to assist her."

"Ob course."

"Then you may go see if Hank can help you with your nose and please don't instigate Isaac. We don't need another situation."

Kurt nods and they both leave the room, it going dark as soon as the doors close.

* * *

><p><strong>culottes mamie = granny panties<strong>


	25. Hall Monitor

I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (Isaac and Mimik are mine though) and I make no money from this. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Screams wake me from sleep.<p>

I roll over to check the alarm clock and see Piotr sitting up in bed.

I glance at the door leading to the hall as the screams are stifled before turning into muffled sobs.

This is the fourth night that she has woken from nightmares...

I glance guiltily and Piotr who thankfully cannot see my face. He sighs and quietly he says, "You should speak with her."

I sit up, "I've tried, but she refuses to answer her door and the last time I tried to port in there I was nearly mutilated."

I absent-mindedly rub the scars on my chest and Piotr nods in the darkness, "There has to be something you haven't tried yet."

I flick the covers off my tail and sigh, "I think she hates me, Pete…"

He chuckles, "She cannot hate you; you are too soft and fuzzy, no? You were the one who got her to open up more and when she learned that she had upset Kitty and yourself, SHE sought YOU out to make amends."

I sigh again and lean back against my pillows, "Maybe…"

I hear the click of her door as she quickly leaves to go to her new safe haven, the gym.

I found out about her trips to the gym from Gambit. He was teaching our class about how being stealthy is all about having honed muscle memory and how we should be as diligent as Kim is and practice. Exercising when you can't sleep is a perfect way to spend the time.

The first night she had a nightmare I responded as I did before and immediately rushed to her door checking to see if she was alright. Kitty did as well and as she was shaking her awake, Kim lashed out and began to viciously attack her.

Kitty had no choice but to phase through the attacks, yelling for help until Herr Logan made me teleport him into the room. He grabbed her wrists and talked calmly to her, occasionally using her old nickname, Kitten.

As soon as she broke into tears Logan ordered both of us to go back to bed. All this because I was such a dummkopf...

But if the Professor hadn't of allowed such an unstable mutant in with the rest of us she wouldn't have had to go to such extremes.

Isaac has visited her room every day, apologizing and regaling her door with stories of the good times she had while in the facility if that was possible. He seems to know her so much better than I…

He's watched her life on a screen like a television series. That alone worries me, especially with him seeming so normal after all that he saw. He doesn't even seem to resent the fact that his father turned him into a mutant.

He explained that to Hank while I was having my nose taken care of. Apparently Hank has devised some sort of medicine that stops him from becoming his other self.

They have been trying to work with him to learn how to control his transformations as well as teaching him how to use his wings.

He seems to love it here, trottel…

.

I sit up suddenly, clamping my mouth shut; halting my scream.

Another nightmare… It's always starts in the interrogation room and then it just gets worse…

I turn, dangling my feet off the bed. I wonder who I woke up this time…

I'm sure they must be annoyed with me by now, disrupting their sleep every night.

Kitty lectured me earlier today on not how I should discuss my feelings and what not…

She just phased right through my door, but halted when she saw me glaring at her, "Hey I know what happened and I think you should talk about it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why would I need to talk about it? I did what was required of me to aid a fellow mutant."

She sighed and sat down in my desk chair, "I know it's not that simple… You look awful and you haven't been seen since you left the danger room."

"I don't _talk_ about feelings, I experience them and then they go away or get bottled up. That's how it's always been."

Kitty shook her head, "Bottled feelings soon come back to bite you in the butt, I mean look at the past few nights. And anyways, you have friends now; you can rely on us to talk to."

I shook my head and continued to stare at my chosen piece of floor.

"Well fine, I see you're not in the mood to talk, but you can't hide in here forever. Isaac and especially Kurt both feel really guilty and you hiding in here and ignoring them is just making them feel worse."

She got up to leave and said, "Just think about it, kay?"

She left and I was alone again until Logan brought by food.

These people … Sometimes it's so hard to fully understand them.

I sigh and get up to look for some clothes that would be suitable for my next destination.

I can't believe I acted like such a child…

It was just so disturbing being him, even if it was only in appearance. What scares me most is how well I pulled it off.

I mean I have had enough time with him to know all his subtle "tells."

I always knew when a beating was coming way before he ever made any hint at his plans. His trigger finger would twitch a few times before his whole hand curled into a fist.

I do feel bad for yelling at Kurt though…

He was just trying to help me out from the beating I took from Isaac.

Boy that kid can pack a punch. Even with my healing I'm still really sore and I still have several bruises from his stronger hits.

I will have to apologize to Kurt, eventually. Right now I still really didn't feel like talking to any of them.

Isaac has been apologizing every day and trying to tell me about some of the better things he saw me do at the facility while standing outside my door.

Kurt has also been apologizing and trying to get me to come out.

I still don't understand it, why does he try so hard?

Cyclops is probably having a field day with me up here hiding every day.

I haven't even eaten any of the food that Logan has been bring me to try and make me eat.

And then the ever polite and unnervingly calm Professor Xavier… I'm sure he's just waiting for the chance to jump into my head and prod around.

His request that I start going to therapy with him attests to that. I'm sure there is a part of him that wants to help me, but I feel like his curiosity and need to know what everyone else does is at the foremost of his priorities.

I may be giving him a bad rap but my mind is my last sanctuary.

They may have destroyed my old body and made me into this, but they could never really take away my mind.

Sure they implanted memories and had mutants fuck around in there (before I knew how to block them out) along with all the training…

Yes Sir, No Sir, Jump? How high, Sir? Kill them? In any particular order or fashion, Sir?

I know it doesn't seem like my mind was very protected, but when you are being ripped apart piece by piece, you'd be more than happy to slip into your head and just escape for a little bit.

And still after all that's happened I'm still fighting to keep the thoughts out…

The feral part of me loved those orders; tearing something open and watching as it bled onto the ground, screaming in horror.

The drugs held it in check, but how many times did I want to join Sabertooth as he did just that?

I shake my head and wrap my arms around myself, these mutants here just don't understand. Not even Logan, he's been free for too long.

Living in there for so long you just go on autopilot, eat and sleep when needed, do as ordered, take the pain, and then do it all over again.

Every so often to break up the monotony you could try to fight it, tell them no when staring down the face of a three year old holding a teddy bear soaked in his family's blood.

But in the end they always won, through pain or their pet telepaths.

There was one that they had around since they first started training me, a volunteer like Sabertooth who enjoyed adding a permanency to the training using her powers.

There was one time she even had it so when Wraith said "Sit", I would sit like a dog.

Oh how they all laughed… That is, until I finally got to meet her. Who was laughing then?

It definitely wasn't her seeing as her smug face was across the room, lovingly separated from the rest of her.

I put my hands to my face and force myself to stop thinking about all that.

Wraith was fucking with me even after death!

I won this time though…

I shrug to myself and exit my room, locking it behind me.

I quietly make my way downstairs to the elevator. Putting in the code they finally assigned me, the elevator smoothly descends into the basement.

There's another gym upstairs, but the one in the basement has all the equipment that tests high power levels and super strength and what not.

I would use the danger room instead but apparently they change the codes a lot, making thm harder and harder to crack, and I am not that good at hacking the more advanced codes.

I rub my knuckles as the elevator halts, quickly making my way down the halls to the locker rooms connecting to the gym.

Dropping off my towel on a bench, I walk straight into the room.

The smell of sweat, machines, and other odors always make my nose crinkle as I walk into it. You learn to ignore it, but it makes you wonder why they never bother with air freshener or something…

I crack my neck and stretch out a bit before heading to my first spot, the punching bag.

I slip into the familiar groove of practicing my punches and jabs, letting my mind go numb as I go into fight mode, pausing if the bag developed a hole and had to be replaced (apparently it happens a lot because they have a whole closet full of 'em).

I don't know how much time passed but after a while a noise behind me startles me and I whip around immediately grabbing the person the by throat and slamming them into the padded floor without a second thought.

"Hey! It's me!" I blink and put down my raised fist, retracting the claws that came out as well, as I stare down into Kurt's wide, yellow eyes.

"You should know better than to sneak up on someone like me…"

I stand offering him a hand as well. He takes it and grins sheepishly as he stands, "Sorry didn't mean to startle you. Nice take down by the way."

He rubs his neck to emphasize the point. He coughs lightly and glances at the several bags on the ground, "Venting again?"

Rolling my shoulder I shrug, "Kind of… Was there something you wanted? I mean, you should be getting sleep for classes and whatnot right?"

It was his turn to shrug as he looked at the ground.

He seemed to be steeling himself for something and after a moment he looks up at me and says, "I'm really sorry Kim! I didn't mean for all that to happen with Isaac, I promise I'll act more mature and I won't goof off again EVER! Can we just still be friends?"

His sudden apology caught me off-guard and after a moment I shake my head. "Look, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I overreacted and got scared of myself. I redirected that at anger at both you and Isaac and have been behaving like a child since then. So if you could, would YOU forgive ME and continue to be my friend?"

He gives me a huge grin his tail waving happily behind him; "Of course!"

He goes to hug me and I hold him at bay by his shoulders, at his confused look I say, "I am really sweaty; not really ideal conditions for close contact."

He laughs and steps back, "So now that that crisis in my life has been averted, would you like to join me for a very early breakfast?"

I glance at the clock on the wall, "No thanks, I want to finish my workout and then take a shower. Then I have to find Isaac and talk to him. Need to be mature and stop hiding in my room like a baby. Maybe dinner though?"

"It's a date!" He teleports away, adding the smell of brimstone to the mixture of scents in the gym.

I shake my head; he is such a strange person…

.

After a lot of thinking and a relaxing shower I head downstairs to the classrooms and just listen in on some of the classes.

Storm was teaching a class on Botany, Jean was talking about first aid on the field, and Cyclops was discussing tactical retreats and when to consider them.

I skipped over the others pausing outside Xavier's lecture room, smelling my intended target inside. From inside I could hear the Professor finishing up a lecture on physics.

I wait patiently, leaning against a wall, ignoring the random passerby's who stare and nodding to those who greeted me.

After a few minutes a quiet bell goes off throughout the hallway, signaling the end of class. The hall fills up with kids heading off to their next class or to go hang out somewhere in the mansion.

I had to wrap my tail around my leg because people kept jumping as they saw it move near their legs as they passed by.

As the door to Xavier's room opens a scent catches my attention; fear.

I quickly follow it around the corner, my curiosity getting the better of me.

I see a small group of students circling around the source of the scent. They are all jeering and egging someone on and underneath their calls I hear small shouts of pain.

I growl and push through the group until I am at the center.

Realizing how one-sided the fight I was witnessing was; I quickly lift the larger of the two boys off the floor, pinning him to the wall.

He is a younger boy covered in orange scales with a fin atop of his fish-like head, possibly in his early teens.

I then turn my attention to the small boy curled up on the floor, he's the little lizard boy I met on my first conscious day here.

"Are you alright kid?"

The fish boy starts to talk but I snarl at him, tightening my grip on his collar, "You be silent!"

Lizard boy looks up at me and forces a grin, replacing the pained look I initially saw, "Hello Miss Kim. I'm ok…"

I offer him my free hand and he takes it, getting up slowly.

"Why was this punk beating on you?"

He looks at the ground, remaining silent.

I turn back to fish boy, "Why were you hurting him?"

He gulps and starts stammering, "I- I – I was only playing."

"Don't lie to me bub, I can smell it."

He nods and says, "Well, he was sitting in my spot on the couch and when I told him to move he punched me, so-"

Lizard boy stomps, "Liar! When I didn't move you pushed me off the seat and then stole my Gameboy! Then I punched you."

Fish boy shakes his head and I snarl again, showing him my sharp teeth, "So you chased him out here and started beating on him. How pathetic…"

I look at those of the group who were still here, watching, "None of you are any better. Getting pleasure out of watching someone pummel a child half their size and doing nothing to stop it. I've had my fill of people like you. How can this be a safe haven when even those being sheltered here are violent towards one another?"

I shake my head in disgust and those still watching quickly depart looking guilty.

"Fish boy, what's your name?"

He gulps and stutters out, "S-s-s-Sammy, mam."

"Well Sammy, you really shouldn't pick on people smaller than yourself. Especially one's that I happen to like. You are going to give him back his game; you are going to apologize, and then you are going to go straight to Xavier's office."

He nods quickly. "And if I ever see or hear of you hurting him or anyone else again, I will enjoy a delicious fish fry for dinner, and boy do I have quite the appetite."

I inhale real deep and then lick my lips.

The scent of urine fills the air and I drop him in disgust, "Go."

Trembling he looks at lizard boy, hands him the game device saying "Sorry Victor!" and runs off.

Lizard boy or Victor looks up at me and smiles, "Thanks Miss Kim. You're not really going to eat Sammy are you?"

"Nah, that's what we call cannibalism and is in fact frowned upon in most societies…"

He frowns and then looks up with a frightened look on his face as he sees Xavier, Scott, and Isaac approaching us from around the corner.

I almost forgot I was here to see him.

I crouch down, putting a hand on Victor's shoulder, "Don't worry, you've done nothing wrong."

He nods and I stand up. Xavier smiles, "I see you have been acting as hall monitor for us this afternoon."

I frown, "Is this how you teach your students? Allow them to attack each other in the halls?"

"I assure that this was a rare occurrence and although I don't approve the means in which you solved it I appreciate the fact that you did."

Scott nods brusquely, "Everyone involved will be doing chores for a month."

"Except the kid."

Xavier smirks, "Except for Victor, Scott will be escorting him down to the med lab so he can have a brief check-up and then he is free to go."

Victor grins. Xavier holds up a finger, "But you will have to come to meet with one of the other teachers a few times to discuss why dealing with the situation with violence initially was the wrong decision."

"Bull, he had every right to defend himself."

Xavier raises an eyebrow, "If that was the case then was Sam not in the right as well?"

"Look I'm not the one who needs to be lectured, do what you will. It's your school."

Scott rolls his eyes and then walks away, calling for Victor to follow.

The lizard boy nods at me and then limps off, quickly, to catch up with his one-eyed escort.

Xavier draws my attention back to himself, "Now I was informed you were waiting outside my classroom for something."

"I was waiting for Isaac."

"Ah, I see. Well, I must leave you two anyway. I believe there is a young man waiting outside my office who may need to be reassured that he won't be visited in the middle of the night by someone hungry for his flesh."

I shrug, "I bet you, he won't be a problem anymore. Not my fault I look scary enough to follow through on my word."

Xavier just shakes his head and wheels himself back down the hall.

I glance at Isaac, "Think he'll ever be able to watch a zombie moving again?"

Isaac chuckles and shakes his head, "Doubtful, you are pretty damn scary when you want to be."

We stand there for a moment and as I hear footsteps coming down the hall I ask, "Could we go somewhere a little more private? I'm not one for making apologies out in the open."

He shrugs, "I really don't think an apology is necessary… Don't want everyone to think you're not the scary tough girl you make yourself out to be?"

I roll my eyes, "I don't give a shit what other people think."

"You're a liar, but ok, how 'bout outside, it's really cold out today so there are probably not many people out, except for maybe Ororo and Bobby."

"You seem to have gotten comfortable here."

He nods, "This place is great, and once you get to know them the people aren't half bad."

He points his thumb down the hallway behind him, "Shall we go?"

I nod and we head towards one of the side doors leading to the back garden.

* * *

><p><strong>Dummkopf - Fool<strong>

**Trottel - Idiot**


	26. Nycticeius humeralis

I do not own or make money from anything from the Marvel universe; Isaac and Mimik are mine though. Don't forget to review and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p>We trudge through the snow in silence.<p>

He's shivering a bit in his thick black hoodie with the X-Men symbol on it and I realize that I'm in just a t-shirt and jeans. I really should start wearing a sweater or something to blend in a bit more, I mean it is December in New York…

We approach a bench that looks like it's been put there from another season; no snow anywhere and the grass was vibrant green with a few flowers scattered about.

"Someone must not like snow too much…"

He laughs, "Who does? I mean besides the obvious people. It's cold and wet and makes you sick."

"I dunno, it makes any place it falls on seem clean and new. I kinda like it…"

I sit down, "Look, I think we really need to talk. I mean besides Logan and me, you are the only other mutant I know who your father experimented on."

He frowns and plops himself down on the bench next to me.

"I also wanted to apologize for acting immaturely about the happenings in the danger room. As I told Kurt, I was frightened and I redirected that as anger towards both of you. I-"

"I get it; you don't have to explain things to me. I've seen what you've been through remember? It's gunna take a very long time before you can ever walk around here like one of the others and even then you will still have to deal with your past. My father was a sadistic man whose only goal in life was to make the perfect creation. We are the culmination of his entire life's aspirations. You can never change the fact that you were his prized experiment, but you can learn to make yourself into something more than that too."

I nod, "I just keep expecting this to be a dream; to wake up and find that I was just being toyed with."

"Me too, I mean I never endured the torture you did, but I'm still this…"

He waves a hand at himself, "I can't even feel emotions properly without remembering the fact that I'm not human anymore."

"Well maybe you will start reverting like I have."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm losing the ability to copy powers. You saw me on the Blackbird, every time I try to mimic an ability I get weaker and weaker. It's because I'm not being force fed the chemicals and drugs your father and his boys made. The feral part of me is coming out more and more too…"

"So that's what that is…"

"What?"

"I have been feeling different ever since I left and haven't been getting my monthly medications. My sense of smell has gotten better and my hearing has been increasing exponentially. Before, even with my huge ears I could only hear slightly better than a human, now it's as if my batty hearing has actually decided to kick in."

"Did Cornelius plan for you to be a feral mutant?"

"Not really, just a side effect of combining your DNA and that of a bat I guess. He wanted me to have the mutated senses, but not the unpredictability that most ferals have. Looks like that went out the window…"

"Why did he pick a bat?"

"He was bored with all the 'common feline and canine mutations' he wanted one that was more unique. He didn't pick a very unique species though… The common evening bat; Nycticeius humeralis. I'm lucky all I got was the wings, the ears, and pointy teeth. Could you picture me with one of those fuzzy muzzles? Blech!"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit, "How can you be so calm? Aren't you angry? Pissed off at him for ruining your life?"

"Well sure I'm pissed, but like I told you before I try to keep things in perspective. You hide your emotions but you weren't allowed to show them, I can't allow my emotions to rule me because I'll start hurting the people around me. Even those I care about…"

I lean forward, resting my forearms on my legs and we sit there in silence for a moment before he asks, "So are you really going to join these people and become an X-Man?"

I nod, "I've done so much wrong in my life I will never make it up. And yes I know a large part of it I didn't have control over, but I still did it. I figure maybe if I try to help them in their fight maybe I can find a way to forgive myself. I have been someone else's tool for so long it's hard to figure out what lies beyond that. But I want to find out who I really am or maybe who I could have been if circumstances were different."

"Am I the first one you've said this to?"

I nod, "The others just don't understand. I know they want to; that they want to be my friends, but…"

"They weren't there."

I look at him, "How are you not messed up like me? Why didn't they treat you like me? Why was I the only one they did all that to?"

He shakes his head, "I don't know, maybe because I grew up happy and normal for most of my life and my father did treat me somewhat kindly; outside of making me live in a cell and experimenting on me. As for why they didn't treat us the same, that's easy. I could never take the punishment you do. I don't have a healing factor or metal bones. I'm just as fragile as the rest of them. And you, you're strong. A lesser person would have given in and ended up like Sabertooth, an insane lackey."

l look at the ground and he puts a hand on my back causing me to flinch. "They said this place is a new start, but if you keep letting Wraith and my father keep you under their control you'll be stuck in the past forever."

I clench my fist, "You're right, I keep thinking about what they did to me, but they can't do it anymore. I'm free to go wherever and do whatever I want."

"That's right; and you have me and Logan and Kitty and Xavier all to help you. You don't have to do it alone."

After a few minutes of silence, I sit up and say, "Well I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry."

He grins and stands, his wings automatically readjusting, "I'm up for some lunch."

I smile at him, "Thank you, it's good to have someone to really talk to."

He smiles back, staring into my eyes a little seriously, "No problem, I like finally getting to talk to you instead of watching all these years."

I go to question his look, but I stop when I notice Kitty walking up, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. "Kim! Oh hey Isaac! What's up?"

He shrugs and says, "Nothing much just heading to lunch. I'll see you two around."

He walks away waving over his shoulder. Kitty watches him go and then and then turns her smile back to me, "So did you take my advice?"

I nod, "Yeah, I apologized to both him and Kurt."

"Ahem!"

"What?"

She puts her hands on her hips and looks at me, eyebrow raised.

"What- oh… I'm sorry."

She grins and says, "Forgiven! And just so you know, Scott scheduled training for us after classes."

"And he wants me there?"

"Well duh, you're part of our team right?"

Before I could answer she grabs my arm and drags me back towards the building, "Come on! It's lunch time."

They're all acting like nothing has happened… I can't believe Cyclops agreed to allow me back in the danger room after all my amazing fiascos.

Then again for those who knew me before it'd also be hard to believe that this killing machine is going around saving small children, apologizing for hurt feelings, and allowing herself to be pushed around a school by a bubbly teen who can walk through walls.

.

"So let me make sure I understand this… You are a trained assassin that was part of a top secret government group, you're now training to be a X-Man, and you're also related to some of the strongest mutants I've seen; and you've never been to a movie theater? Girl, we gotta get you out more."

DJ shakes his head in mock disappointment before taking a bite out of an apple.

"Well I was outside of one once. I was waiting for a target to emerge to be- removed…"

I take a bite out of my sandwich and cringe, "What is that?" Isaac leans in from his seat to my right and sniffs, "Ham, lettuce, tomato, bread, and mayo?"

"Mayo? What is that and why does it make my food taste of oil and fat?"

The others all stop and share looks before laughing. I glare at each of them and push my plate away; removing the orange I collected with it.

My table mates are Isaac, Kitty, DJ, Bobby, Tabitha, Rictor, (Julio), and Cannonball (Sam).

After they all stop laughing, Cannonball passes me a plate with small brown circles smelling of bread and modified chicken, "If ya drown 'em in ketchup ya can't tell they're tasteless."

He passes the bottle of ketchup as well and I thank him.

Bobby leans in and quietly asks, "So is it true that you threatened to eat Sammy?"

I roll my eyes and flash my adamantium teeth at him, "Do you really believe every rumor you hear?"

Isaac smirks and shakes his head, "She told him she'd invite him to a fish fry and he'd be the main course."

Bobby laughs, "Serves the punk right."

Tabitha points a french-fry at me and asks, "Don't you think you might have traumatized the poor kid?"

"Tell me, which lessons do you learn faster; the one that you were taught passively or the one that causes some form of fear or pain? If you allow a child to touch the fire it is almost guaranteed they won't do it a second time."

DJ shrugs, "She's not wrong."

Isaac mentions quietly, "He also pissed himself."

Bobby purses his lips and looks a bit concerned now.

Rictor pipes up from the end of the table, "Kitty you have been unusually quiet. You have been dying to sit Kim down and gossip with her during a meal. Why the sudden case of silence?"

Kitty looks away from the door she had been staring at, startled, "What? Oh… I was just waiting for someone to show up."

She eyes the door and then me, and the others seem to suddenly understand her motives. Well, everyone except Isaac.

Tabitha grins and asks me, "So what are you doing tonight?"

"Well Kitty informed me of training and then Kurt requested that I eat dinner with him again."

A sharp screech from my right causes me to jump and then glare at Isaac who was looking intently at his plate. "Sorry my fork slipped. Like nails on a chalkboard right?"

Bobby eyes Isaac, "You aren't going to get all big and bad again right?"

Tabitha smacks him upside the head, "You ask him that every time, shut up!"

Isaac smiles and shrugs, "No biggie, it's a legitimate fear. But no, Beast made it so I can't for now. Hence why I've been skipping gym... I have a reduced adrenal response now, basically making me almost hypoglycemic. Whatever works right?"

"Anyways, Rictor why are you not part of our team?"

He grins, "I'm new and only 17 and so apparently until I get older I'm stuck in the school group. James, Sam, Jamie, Tabby, Jubilee, DJ, Dani, Amara, myself and a few others who come and go with other teams and what not."

"Dani… Who is that? The name sounds familiar."

Bobby cringes as if recalling something, "I think you met her downstairs outside the danger room. She kinda freaked you out with her powers."

Oh! She was the one who made me look like a fool by becoming Wraith. "Ah, I recall that."

DJ looks over his shoulder and then back to me, "It's not her fault though; she can't control her powers that well. She keeps accidently showing people their fears."

"She can't be the only one who has issues."

Kitty nods, "Yeah, but until she can get a grip on her powers she's been avoiding you like the plague."

I frown and suddenly the bell chimes and then the entire room starts to bustle with students heading to class and what not.

Kitty throws her bag over her shoulder and asks, "So what are you going to do until we're done? Even Logan is teaching again so…?"

I shrug, "Try to find something nonviolent to entertain me until this evening I suppose. Maybe I'll paint a mural or start up sewing…"

They're all shocked silent until Isaac picks up on my humor and begins to laugh.

Bobby especially, "I can picture it now, you and Logan sitting by the fire place sewing and chatting like grannies. HAH! That's just too amazing!"

He nearly falls over from laughter as he exits the room. Kitty rolls her eyes, "So really, what's the plan?"

"I dunno… I'm sure I'll find something to do."

"Okay, just don't threaten to eat any more kids. It's really hard to stop the rumors that you're a vampire or whatever."

I grin and nod and she leaves the room with the others, Isaac following close behind.

I leave as well heading upstairs to the library in search of the book that I was reading before.


End file.
